Sparks, Flames, & Fire
by Fantasy-Magic18
Summary: A Gravity Falls fanfic. They used the Cipher Wheel, but was there a price? A new sibling, the return of an old menace, the rise of an empire. Powers are strengthening, new alliances are breaking and beginning, but who will be the one to take a stand and finally end it all? May be hard to understand concepts, and twisty plots. Rated T for minor violence and Bill scenes.
1. Chapter 1: Back

After the incident with Weirdmageddon, Stan still doesn't remember anything from around age 18 to 28, the decade where he was kicked out of the house and left to fend for himself. The era where he made his own businesses and became banned from 32 of the 50 states, and when he came to realize just how much family meant to him. When his entire life pivoted and took on a new course, set off to save his family. A very important time for him.

Stan doesn't seem to broken up or worried about this. He doesn't miss those memories, and I probably wouldn't either if I had been him. His mistakes almost seem to have been lifted from his shoulders, like a renewed and cleansed man. He walks around so effortlessly. He laughs freely. So I'm not too bothered by it. Those were mistakes in our past. I can remember enough of it for the two of us, and I don't want him to be burdened or troubled by those haunting memories. It's probably the best thing for the two of us that came out of Weirdmageddon. I still feel a little sad, however, that my brother missed such a large chunk of his life, even if it was a difficult time.

I know how losing memories feels like. I know how creating memories without conscious thought or feeling feels like. I know how a wrecked and torn history feels like as well.

But that's all in the past. We've created a new future for ourselves, a future upon a beautiful ship granted the name _The Stan O' War_ _II_. It's a cloudless night. The wind rustles the flags on our mast and sweeps my hair over my cracked and crooked glasses. Stars twinkle overhead, nearly but not quite blinding. It's gorgeous. I almost wish, for a split second, that the twins were here. Then I remind myself: they couldn't be. Dipper's at Harvard, making his way through school with my recommendation and scholarship, and Mabel's working at a week-long arts-and-crafts fair in Portland, Oregon. Gosh, what I'd give to get them here to see this. Like the children I never had. I hope their parents are okay.

Stan's next to me, gazing out at the sea, listening to my stories of college, researching Gravity Falls, writing my journals, and building the portal. I skim over the devastating and hard parts; he can learn about those later. I'm talking about the time when Fiddleford had come up with the idea of a flux-capacitor inter-scoping dimension stabilizer, that had nearly destroyed our entire portal, when Stan suddenly has an epiphany.

"I remember!" He shouts, jumping up from his place by the starboard and rushing over to me. "Those ten years, they're coming back to me!"

I get excited. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, it's probably just something minor, like the color of his STNLYMBL car or the shape of his lottery tickets, but I ask him anyways. I'm curious as to how my memories of building the portal triggered Stan's, but it's worth a shot.

"What?" I ask him in a breathless whisper, grasping his lifejacket.

The possibility that this is a major breakthrough is very small. The odds impossible. But I can't wait. If he is starting to remember, if it is coming back, then more could be on the way. Stan's life could be whole again. He would be burdened, remorseful, sad, possibly even a little mad, but whole all the same. But then he says the unimaginable.

"I built the portal with you!"

I do a double-take. "Excuse me?" There's no way. He was out in California, selling Stan-Vacs and who knows what else. He,...he was gone. My heart pounds, and I have to take deep breaths to calm my rattled nerves. He's scaring me now.

"Yes, it was me, you, and Fiddleford, it's all coming back together now,..." He pauses. "I didn't like Fiddleford, right? I'd always try to mess with him and get his goat."

"No, no, you'd weren't there Stan, you must be imagining it. How could you-"

"What? No, I swear I remember it, I remember helping you build the portal with my own two-" He stops abruptly and looks down at his hands, displayed in front of his body. He turns them over and over, thinking hard about the fingers. "Actually,... I think they were _your_ hands?"

My blood runs cold. My heart must have stopped, surely. It's a dream. I swallow hard and don't respond. Just nod my head, that's it, that's all, just nod my head.

"That's very odd, Ford," Stan continues on, confused and a little concerned, "How did I get your memories? Is that some creepy twin ESP thing?"

No, it's not ESP. It's not a twin thing. It's not even anything fathomable or perceivable or real. How do I know this? I wasn't the only one controlling and using my body during that time.

No, because he was there too. Always watching, waiting, menacing, and manipulating. Holding out until the designated Time. Memories of the life we had left behind flood my mind, my senses, engulf me. Weirdmageddon looms before me, rearing its ugly head, ready to strike once more.

Stan was getting Bill's memories back, too.

* * *

 ** _Ok, so it's my first story posted on here. I hope it's okay, please just leave a short comment or like and follow if you like it so far. It's not very long, but it's a prologue. The chapters will most likely switch between perspectives, if you get what I mean. This chapter is the Stan twins, then the next chapter will be about someone else, then it will switch back to the Stan twin's dilemma. Let me know if there's anything I should revise or improve upon. Thanks!_**

 ** _Stan: Wait who's Bill._**

 ** _Ford: Um... Do you really not know?_**

 ** _Stan: *long silence* Is he that dream demon who destroyed my shack last summer?_**

 ** _Ford: *sighs* Yes... but-_**

 ** _Stan: I don't remember him much. Was he green or blue? I think he was a square... yes? No?_**

 ** _Ford: It's a long and complicated story, I don't want to get into it._**

 ** _Stan: A complicated story is the best kind of story, Poindexter._**

 ** _Ford: No really, I need to get back to my calculations. *grumbles about twin issues*_**

 ** _Stan: *grabs a baseball bat* Just lemme know when to swing._**

 ** _Ford: No! Put that down!_**

 ** _Stan: What about Bill? I don need no evil creep demon up in my brains!_**

 ** _Me: *laughing as they struggle and wrestle with each other*_**


	2. Chapter 2: Beginning

A bus, a hat, a suitcase. These are all common, everyday items. A sister, named Mabel; a brother named Mason. Those may be common as well. A sun, high in the sky, slightly cloudy but not too bad. A small breeze, and treetops rustling in the wind. The bus starts up, revving its engines, and sets off north from California. Three children ride that bus, each doing something of their own. The twins sit next to each other, Mabel playing Bus Seat Treasure Hunt, Dipper with his nose in his latest mystery series, _Mysteries of the Unknown._

Another kid sits in the seat behind them, fiddling with the corner of a book, mind wandering and eyes staring blankly ahead. A suitcase sits next to her, clasp undone and lid ajar. The bus runs over a particularly rough patch in the road, and a paper slips out of the suitcase and onto the floor. It's a written letter, in small, neat, cursive handwriting. The top reads _Meagan_ _Pines_. It's the first page of a novel. The kid, Meagan, hurriedly stoops to pick it up, then reattaches the clasp on the bag and stuffs it under the seat. She hopes no one saw it. It isn't finished, and it's trash anyways.

Being the oldest always sucked. Last picked for games because kids didn't trust a high-schooler. Treated like a child for longer than most kids would be by their parents because she was the first child and they didn't want to let go of their baby girl. The want to be understood, never satisfied, even when she dearly wanted to. Emotions having to be bottled up, because if they were let loose, everyone would either be very angry or very comforting, neither of which was helpful. Puberty in the way, and no one being understanding because it was such a confusing time. Not to mention the fact that your younger siblings were somehow always ahead, one step ahead, and brainiac twins. Twin ESP always at their side, to their aid, to help them out. Never having anything to lose, always wanting to risk it all, just for saving something or someone.

Meagan Pines wanted that respect, that glory.

Meagan was an adopted child, and had been adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Pines when she was only 3 years old. She did not remember her parents, although she sometimes had mysterious and blurry dreams about them from time to time. Meagan had red-brown hair, with bits of gold streaked through it. Her eyes were a deep blue-gray, and she wore black-framed glasses perched on top of her nose. She was small for her age, short and petite, and had small hands and wide feet. She was 15 years old, and in 9th grade. She was a dancer as well, so she was strong from years of competitive dance. She always wore her black team dance jacket, either tied around her waist or zipped up over her shirt. Meagan typically wore her hair up in a ponytail, and had her nails painted blue or green. She was very quirky, but fun and easy to get along with. She was also very intelligent, but soft-spoken, quiet, and kept to herself most of the time. She was an aspiring author and enjoyed mysteries, like Dipper, but wasn't as paranoid as he was. Rather, she became a bit obsessed and fantasized about it, thinking about it all the time. Meagan was very religious as well, like her mother and father, and tended to show her beliefs in her words and actions. She believed that there was always a peaceful way to resolve a problem. By doing this she also gained many friends, although she only counted a few as her true besties. Another attribute of Meagan's would be that she had many talents. She liked to explore a lot and stretch out her potential. She usually carried around a drawing notebook and a pencil, and sketched in it in her free time. She loved to read, write, and also code as well. She was a techie and very versatile and handy with technology, and curious about how things worked as well. She was always exploring, experimenting, and calculating, trying to understand things and why they were. Meagan was in all the advanced classes at school, and was usually classified as a "nerd", although she would never count herself as a true nerd because she wasn't socially awkward like they tended to be. She just didn't want to become to trusting with people in case they turned on her. It had been done to her before, and she had never gotten over it.

This was Meagan's first time out of California. The twins had been to Oregon before, of course, to visit their Grunkle Stan last year. He had run a small shack up in northern Oregon, in a small town named Gravity Falls. While they were there, Dipper and Mabel had discovered three mysterious journals that had been written by a young scientist about 30 years ago. He had documented the weirdness of Gravity Falls, and written all of his findings in three separate journals. Dipper had been the first to find the third journal, and Grunkle Stan had the other two. Together, the journals each had a page that, when put together, revealed instructions for constructing an inter-dimensional gateway. By opening the gateway, the twins had uncovered another Great-uncle of theirs, Great-uncle Ford.

Apparently, Stan and Ford were twins who had once done everything together, until one fatal day when Stan messed it up on accident and was thrown out of the house. For 10 years, he spent his life traveling the country, trying to make a living. During those ten years, his twin Ford graduated from college, went to live in Gravity Falls, and wrote the journals with his pal, Fiddleford. But Ford got stuck in his research, and he had desperately asked a dream demon for help, thinking that he was trustworthy. The dream demon, named Bill Cipher, tricked him and destroyed his life, shattering his relationship with Fiddleford and taking advantage of his work. In the end, Ford became so paranoid that he had no one to trust. He finally called up his brother, Stan, to help him out. When Stan arrived, Ford showed him his portal, and explained that all the journals must be hidden so that no one could know about it. He gave his last journal to Stan, telling him to leave town, sail off with it, and hide it where no one could find it. Stan got angry and fought with him, but then accidentally pushed Ford into the portal. He was gone, and Stan had no way to bring him back without the other two journals. For thirty years, Stan then tried to bring his brother back, and when Dipper and Mabel activated the portal again, he had gotten his wish.

The twins then spent the rest of that summer uncovering Stan and Ford's life story, and piecing together the secrets of the mystifying and enigmatic Bill Cipher. The fiasco with the portal had left a remnant behind, a rift that had still connected Gravity Falls with the portal. The children and the Grunkles tried to protect the rift with all they have, but in the end Bill got the best of them and shattered the rift, causing his dimension to spill into Gravity Falls. The town was sucked into a temporary "Weird"mageddon, similar to Armageddon, or the end times. For a week, Gravity Falls was stuck under Bill's power, turned to statues, tortured, and made weird. But Dipper and Mabel, including all the friends they had made over the summer, fought back against him and ended him once and for all. Stan and Ford reunited, and then sailed off on an adventure to discover weirdness in other parts of the world. Stan's co-worker, Soos, was put in charge of the shack that he had run, along with his girlfriend Melody. Dipper and Mabel returned home, and all was right again.

But not for Meagan. She was the outsider, the oldest, that had been left in California with her parents. She was 2 years older than Dipper and Mabel, and wasn't allowed to spend the summer in Gravity Falls because she had summer school. She had spent the summer moping about, trying but failing to do something productive or fun. And when the twins came home and told them all about their crazy and amazing summer, it hadn't made things any better for Meagan. She had been left out, again, only because she was the oldest and not a twin.

This time was different, however. Now she would be able to experience what they had. She would have the opportunity to explore like they had. Now she could establish herself, become someone rather than a nobody.

If Meagan could rank her family in a hierarchy, it would go something like this:

 _Grunkle Stan and Ford: Explorers and masterminds._

 _Grunkle Stan: Master thief and clever thinker/hardheaded at times, may rush into problems. Looks like Ford. Sometimes a scatterbrain._

 _Great-uncle Ford: Highly intelligent and thinks his way through/as alike as he is different from Stan. Looks like Stan. Extremely organized._

 _Mother and Father Pines: Carriers, helpers who teach when need be, passers of information, the developers._

 _Dipper and Mabel: Twin power, very adept, a singular mind when working together. Better together than separate and alone._

 _Mabel: Crazy, innovative thinker. Looks not directly at the problem, but makes her own solutions (and sometimes her own words) Follows in Grunkle Stan's footsteps. Loud and excitable. Doesn't have many plans for the future, and doesn't look ahead much. Looks like Dipper. Very much a scatterbrain._

 _Dipper: Extremely smart, follows in his Great-uncle Ford's footsteps. Doesn't trust much, but that can be both an advantage and a weakness at times. Very smart and outspoken. Wants to have his own ghost-hunting show one day. Looks like Mabel. Very organized._

 _Meagan: The third. A quiet, kept to herself person. A bookish girl, and doesn't have many friends, just keeps those who she trusts and loves the most around her. Thinks about things rather than talking about them. Very smart but doesn't speak much about it. Wishes to be an author. Not much said._

It's no mistake that Meagan was at the bottom. She usually was.

The bus suddenly slammed on the brakes, and all three children hit the back of the seat in front of them with a _thump_. Mabel screeched, the rainbow unicat sweater she had been knitting flying from her hands and flinging over a seat two rows ahead. Meagan didn't say anything, but hit the seat with a muffled _"umf!"_ and a curse. Her suitcase opened again and all her stuff tumbled into the aisle once more. Dipper slid forward, his book saving him and breaking his fall into the seat. He was the first to recover, and sat up, groaning and rubbing his head. "Uh, _what the heck just happened?!_ "

The bus driver waved a hand back towards them and chuckled. "Sorry about that children, there's roadworks ahead. Guess I'm going to have to turn around..." The bus started backwards down the road a ways, then turned left onto another street to avoid the roadworks. The road led down a steep hill into a small town below, and the bus went slowly down so it wouldn't tumble. The roadworks were situated high above the town, and the bridge the men at the roadworks were building was over a particularly peculiar alien spaceship-shaped cliff.

Mabel was the first to notice. "Hey, those aren't just any roadworks! Look!" She pointed out the window at the bridge the men were rebuilding. It was over a deep ravine, and the road they were constructing looked like it had once been railroad tracks. The ravine led down into a valley, which led into a small town, with a water-tower and a small muffin-looking graffiti painted on it, that was labeled,

 _"Gravity Falls!"_

* * *

 ** _Chapter 2 is out! I hope you guys like it, please drop a comment below to let me know what you think. Is there anything I should change or improve upon?_** _ **Like Meagan's character?**_ ** _Let me know if there's any specific places where something should be revised, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!_**

 ** _Meagan: Let's just get this done and over with. I hope my role in this story is short._**

 ** _Dipper: Um, Meagan, you're the main character here..._**

 _ **Mabel: No way, Dipstick, just look at all my fabulouso lines! I'm so obviously the main character! I have like, what, 4 or 5 lines...**_

 _ **Dipper: No, there's only 2 or 3 where you actually talk-**_

 _ **Mabel: naw, 6, 7...**_

 _ **Dipper: Where the heck are you looking?**_

 _ **Mabel: Oh gosh, looky, I'm speaking in like every paragraph! Wouldya look at that!**_

 _ **Dipper: Oh come on, stop over-exaggerating!**_

 _ **Meagan: It's a losing argument Dipper. Just drop it.**_

 _ **Dipper: All right...back to Mysteries of The Unknown...**_

 _ **Meagan: Nerd.**_

 _ **Me: *laughing in the background* LOL**_

 _ **Meagan, Dipper, and Mabel: *glare at me***_

 _ **Me: Sowwy, I'll just go write chapter 3 now. *chuckles then leaves to write yet another chapter***_


	3. Chapter 3: Tragedy

"We're going back to Gravity Falls."

"That was a statement, not a question, Sixer."

"Yes, that's correct, and it's final. I'm turning the boat around right now."

"No." He was in denial. Typical Stan.

"This isn't funny Stan! Serious stuff is going on here, and if I had the proper equipment I could assess it correctly, but I don't! We need to get back to the Shack!" I almost wanted to scream at him. I knew my argument was pretty feeble, and not to mention I had no evidence to back it up. If I told him the truth of the enormity of the situation, he wouldn't believe me.

My nerd brain, always on and calculating. Typical me.

"Alright, alright, you big brainiac. But I'm gonna to sit on the boat and complain and ask if we're there yet the whole way there."

"You do that." My comeback was bad, but I didn't have time or room in my brain to help him out at the moment.

We were marching to the dockyard, sand flying every which way as it was kicked up from our hustling feet. We had docked on Bermuda, in the Royal Naval Dockyard. Flags with the British insignia fluttered in the slight breeze. Stan tried to keep up behind me, carrying his singular suitcase and fez. He blumbered about in the sand, trying but failing to keep his balance as he raced to keep up with my pace. I held my laptop and briefcase in my left hand, and had my lab coat slung over my arm. In my right hand I dragged my rolling suitcase, which was airtight so that no sand could get in.

The boats were all lined up on the dock, and I looked them over as we passed by. A red boat happened to catch my eye. It was very large, and had three levels to it. It was lined with gold trim and it was named _The Eye_. It was gorgeous, and Stan look at me oddly as I sighed when we passed by. The paint was fresh, the trim was new, and it gleamed in the sunlight. The mast was over 30 meters high, and the sail was decorated with a large eye emblem and _The Eye_ printed below it. The sail was gold, too, like the trim. The overall effect of the boat was overwhelming, broad, and intense. It stood there amongst the other ships like a grand general, commanding his army. I was reluctant to leave it, but I knew we had to hurry back to Gravity Falls. If we didn't set sail now, it would be too dark to steer the boat.

When we arrived at our small boat, the _Stan O' War_ _II_ , I jogged up the ramp onto our boat, and positioned my items down below, strapped to the walls so nothing would fall. Stan was right behind me, even making a small seat for his fez. I rolled my eyes, but he caught me looking and hurriedly put it back on his head, blushing. "Nerd!" He said in his defense, and I laughed out loud as I ran back up to the deck. I then quickly took hold of the steering wheel, turned us around, and pulled us out of the port we were in. We had clearance to dock here because we were certified paranormal investigators, and even sported badges to prove it. My badge, pinned just above my name printed onto my jacket, _**Ford Pines**_ , glinted in the morning sunlight as we sailed out of the dockyard.

It was quiet for a while. Just the breeze, sun, water, and us. Then I noticed the quietness wasn't emanating from us because we were simply quiet. It was because something was missing. That was when I turned around.

I saw it, oh the horror, I saw it sticking from his side. He smiled weakly at me. He tried removing it at first, but when he saw that the harpoon was in too deep, he gave up and collapsed on the floor. There was no blood, no gore, and I was grateful for that. He looked up at me, his brown eyes glinting in the sunlight, reflecting in my own. Blue on brown, the first gazing with intent and purpose, fierce and determined to save, the second slowly draining of itself, it's life source being pulled from it. I rushed towards him as soon as I saw him collapse, and shifted from captain to doctor in almost an instant.

"Stan, stay with me Stanley, don't move, breath slow and deep." I murmured to him, keeping quiet less I disturb him or cause him to panic.

"Ford, if I don't make it-" He whispered feebly, his breathing coming out in rasps of pain and spittle.

"No." I said sternly, being firm with him, "Follow my breathing. In," I breathed in, deeply and slowly, held it for a second, and he followed along, trusting my advice for once in his life, "Now out," I let go, letting my air flow easily from my lips, slow, still so slow. I needed this moment to last, I needed it to stay this way and move oh so slowly.

This was crucial. If I rushed or went to fast, he might be a goner. I stripped his clothes from his body, then used it to soak what little blood there was. The harpoon hadn't went too deep, but if I didn't cleanse the wound fast it was sure to become infected. The harpoon was small, smaller than usual, and there was no connecting line, just a silver tip sticking out. I hoped my minor in medical school would be able to help. I had gotten a diploma... I tried to think straight and remember my training. First you need to reassure the patient, so they don't make it worse. _Check._ Make sure their breathing is secure, and no major organs are damaged. _Check._ Then we need supplies to fix up the wound. Before I pulled the harpoon out, I stood up and made to go get the first aid kit, but Stan gasped and spluttered. "Ford! No, don't leave me!" His tone was pleading and desperate, small and weak and vulnerable. It was quiet as well, almost a whisper, but it caused his body to cough and wrack with pains. I had never seen him like this. It made my eyes well up with tears, my heart to reach out towards him. I hoped that once I fixed him, I would never have to see him this way again. It was pitiful and horrible to watch, like a dying wounded animal fresh for the kill, the final blow, the last strike.

I took a deep breath.

 _I needn't think like that,  
_

I scolded myself,

 _get a grip, he will survive, he WILL.  
_

I reassured Stan that I would be back as soon as possible, then started down the stairs and found the first aid kit.

 _I hope he's okay, he's my twin, the only family I have left besides Mabel and Dipper,  
_

I took the stairs back up two at a time,

 _Who did this?  
_

Stan groaned, his body almost devoid of life,

 _Why would they do such a thing?_

My mind was in overdrive, calculating, trying to understand,

 _Who? What? Why? Where? When?_

I ran towards him, almost skidding in the fresh blood from his wound,

 _I thought I had been watching him, I'm his brother, I should've been watching,_

Kneeling next to him, I opened the kit and laid the tools out,

 _All my fault, it's all my fault, it's always all my fault,_

and I urged him to not fall asleep,

 _Can't I do anything right?_

He weakly smiled and winked at me,

 _Sure, Stan might steal the occasional tangerine,_

I almost laughed at the small gesture,

 _but he's not some kind of evil supervillain!_

but reminded myself that this was serious, so I merely smiled.

 _He's okay, I have the tools now, he's okay,_

"Stay awake, Stanley, stay with me!"

 _Once I get him back to health,_

I kept telling him to keep it up, he was doing great,

 _I will find the person who did this,_

I took out the tools, pulled out the harpoon, cleansed his wound.

 _and make them pay_.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3, now with extra tragedy, free of charge! Been triggered yet? Jk, but will you believe me when I say I actually didn't mean it to be so nasty?**_ _ **Also, the part with The Eye boat was pretty lame I think, I just added it to maybe use later in the story. But sorry if it's kinda bleh. I've never had to describe a boat before, and I actually had to look up the parts of a boat just to write accurately about it. XD**_

 _ **It just got very emotional very quick. Sorry... but I guess tragedy emphasizes and helps bring a story together! Yes? No?**_ _ **I promise, I'll clear this up. (There's a million things I haven't done...just you wait, just you wait...)**_

 ** _Ford: No! Not my brother! Don't take him away, we haven't even gotten that far into the story yet!_**

 ** _Me: Oh gosh, I didn't mean it to be this way, I'm so sorry Ford-_**

 ** _Ford: Don't you say sorry to me! Do you know how many times I've heard that, and it's never been sincere?! YOU'RE KILLING MY TWIN!_**

 ** _Me: *blushing fiercely* Aw what a cute, overprotective, puffed-up owl._**

 ** _Ford: SHUT UP ABOUT MY OWLISH TENDENCIES_**

 ** _Me: Now for chapter 4, where Stan's fate is sealed..._**

 ** _Ford: NOOOOOOOOOOO *wailing and crying while being pulled away by men in white coats*_**

 ** _Me: Yikes. I was just kidding._**

 ** _Soos: Yea, you know her and Dipper's jokes are terrible._**

 ** _Me: Soos, where'd you come from?_**

 ** _Soos: Doo doo doo, just awkwardly listening in on your conversations from backstage..._**

 ** _Me: You're not even in my story._**

 ** _Soos: Yep._**

 ** _Me: *turns away* creepy..._**

* * *

 **Btw, if anyone has any ideas for a title for this story, it would be greatly appreciated! The title right now is just a placeholder, and I don't have any real ideas for it rn. I'd like for a simplistic yet bold title if you can come up with one. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4: Calamity

" _Dipper. Dipper, wake up."_

 _A bright, yellow light filters through my cracked eyelids, and I feel a mass beside me gently shake my shoulder. I roll over onto my side, yawning and opening my eyes as I do so. The window across from me is frosted over with ice, and I can hear the wind howling and making the shingles above our room creak. Everything still slightly blurry, I sit up and grasp her hand. "Mabel, what day is it?" I ask her urgently. The mass sitting on my bed, my 14-year-old sister Mabel, looks at me worriedly. Her eyebrows draw together as she responds, hesitantly, "Monday, Dipper. It's the first day of summer."_

 _Oh yes, that's right. Our second year in Gravity Falls. After a year._

 _But the weather tells otherwise. Snow swirls and drifts past outside, and icicles hang frostily from the rooftop._

" _Mabel, are you sure?"_

 _She sighs and lifts herself from my bed. "Yes, Dipper. We got here yesterday. Don't you remember the Grunkles greeting us at the door? Our reunion party?" Yes, I do remember, but somehow my mind struggles to make sense of it. I lean over a pluck my glasses from the dresser, then shuffle over and push open the triangle-shaped window at the end of the room. It gives way reluctantly, and the cold chill of winter rushes into our bedroom. "Dipper!" Mabel shouts at me, "Are you INSANE?!"_

" _What's going on?" I mumble to myself. Maybe I am going insane. But as I think that maybe I'm hallucinating and it really is summer, and reach to close the window, a golden flash catches my eye. Only one thing could do that. I need it. I'm drawn to it, as if it's my lifeline. Before Mabel can say anything more than, "DIPPER! YOU CAN'T-" I lean out and tumble over onto the roof._

 _The cold bites me like a wolf. My mind freezes over and dulls with pain, and I'm temporarily blinded by the wind and snow pummeling my face. But I have to get a grip on things, to reach that golden hand buried in the snow. I shake my head to clear it, and as I do I spot the flash again, only a few feet away from me. I crawl down the roof, sliding on the ice, and swing my arms around to brush the snow off. There! I greedily snatch the book from the gutter and turn to go back inside._

 _Only to find it's not there anymore. In fact, nothing is there. Only the book and I, suspended in a forever expanding whiteness._

 _I clutch the book to my chest, and slowly spin myself around, expecting the worst. It's happened again. Everytime I reach for the book, it happens this way. Yes, I see him now, gliding over the hills of blank whiteness, glowing that strange, yellow, ethereal glow I have come to associate with doom itself. The insane triangle from hell, a pyramid of horrid nightmares. His black top-hat is the same as ever, floating above his head as if by a string. His one, catlike eye piercing straight through me, scrutinizing me._

" _Bill." I say._

 **"** _ **PINE TREE."** He responds, silkily, almost elegantly. His devilish eye locks onto the book. I know he wants it. That's all he's ever wanted. _

**"** _ **THE JOURNAL, PINE TREE, AND I WILL FREE YOU AND SHOOTING STAR."** He snaps his fingers in a glow of brilliant, flashing, blue wisps of fire, and his own insane Zodiac wheel appears before us. The Cipher Wheel, containing all of those I hold dear to me within its confines. He means to free us from the bonds that bind us to him. The prophecy of the Cipher Wheel, that once all of its members are united, Bill will either be vanquished or live forever. It's a mystery that has lasted billions and billions of years. No one has ever found out the true meaning of the Cipher Wheel._

 _Freedom. I taste it on my tongue, long to touch it with my hands, feel it once and for all. I don't think I'll ever be free, not as long as this sick maniac lives. But it's worth a shot._

 _And I reach out to shake his blue, flaming hand. It's a deal. The book is his. I can't win this time, the fight went out of me a year ago, that one summer day, and it's not coming back. I was young, naive, and running on adrenaline, paranoia, and fear that whole summer. So I go ahead with the bargain I know he'll propose to me once more. In exchange for the book, he won't harm me. He can free Mabel and I. Because it was my fault in the first place. It should never have even existed, journal number 4. **My fault, my fault, my fault** rings in my ears. **All my fault.**_

 _So as his black, greedy, blue-flamed, treacherous hands reach for me once more, I only have one, last, singular thought:_

" _Please, don't hurt Mabel, it's not her fault."_

 ** _Please…_**

 ** _Please…_**

 ** _Please..._**

* * *

As I awake I sit up and gasp- I'm still in the dream. The walls slowly close around me, suffocating me, swallowing me whole. Bill's screaming voice laughs and rings in my ears. But as I frantically blink the sleep from my eyes, I realize that it was simply my stress and paranoia enveloping me again. My room is only just a room, with my blanket splayed out over me, and my pillows heaped on the floor. I slowly ease myself back into my mattress, trying to hang on to the last few moments of warmth my sleep-ridden bed can provide. I snap my head over to look outside- but my dream escapes me, and I wonder why I felt an urge to look out there. But then I remember, it was winter in my dream. Why had it been winter?

Something was off, something made me on edge about it all, but I can't seem to remember what it was I dreamed about. The harder I try to reach it, the farther it gets and fades from me. But it was winter. And I was frightened of something. It can't be good, based off of what my dreams have included the last time I was here.

It's almost like once we got rid of him, we actually never really _got rid of him_. I know, it's confusing. Let me explain.

Bill. He constantly pummeled us, tortured us, tore our family apart last summer. He haunted us during the night, and threatened us during the day. And once he was gone, it was a huge relief. But even that didn't prepare me for what was to come.

We arrived back in Gravity Falls 3 days ago. Since then, I've been plagued with nightmares and dreams of torture. I haven't had dreams like that since Weirdmageddon. Mabel, lost in a bubble of her own madness; Soos, playing catch with a fake image of his dad; Wendy, drowning in her new high school life; And the Uncles, forever at war with one another. It was chaos.

But the most recent one was the one that shook me up the most. Every time I reached for that book, every time I had it in my hands, Bill appeared again. Every time, always asking the same thing, for the book. Every time I would refuse, and the dream would end in my horrible, skin-tearing, bone-smashing destruction. But the last time I had had that dream was when book 4 was created, a year ago. Book 4 shouldn't have even existed. Ford and I had decided it might've been a good idea to write about our experience with Weirdmageddon, and write down some of our speculations and revelations. But that was a mistake. Since then I had been plagued by those dreams of the book and Bill. Until tonight. This time I actually gave it over to him. I didn't mean to do it, but I guess in dreams it doesn't really matter what you want or don't want. Maybe it being my first night back in Gravity Falls was what triggered it. Or maybe my paranoia did it. Either way, somehow I agreed to his deal this time. And knowing Bill, I didn't know if it would actually affect anything in the real world. And I wasn't about to take any chances.

I leapt out of bed, shoved my glasses up the bridge of my nose, and hurriedly dressed myself. Mabel was still sleeping, and I leaned over to replace the blankets that had fallen off of her. Waddles slept on the floor at the end of her bed, guarding her almost like a watchdog would. I patted his head too, then pulled on a pair of jeans and a simple dark blue turtleneck. Then I laced up my tennis shoes and stood back to look in the mirror.

I looked just like Ford.

I tried again and again to deny that fact, but it turned out the stuff people said about me was true: I was the spitting image of my Great Uncle Stanford. I was the nerdy, smart, adventurous person who had a twin. Who read books like a starving person would eat a turkey dinner. Who wrote books in nearly the same way. But I couldn't be. Ford lied to his friends and family, hid from those who loved him, and lived in the shadow of the forest in a shack like a recluse. I was the opposite. I would never betray my family or hide from them. And I needed Mabel. No one in their right mind would push their siblings away, no matter what the issue. Why Ford did any of that was beyond my comprehension. Anyways, just because we shared the same hair color, or face shape, or clothing choice, didn't mean anything. I would not turn into Ford. I would not make the mistakes he did. I was my own person; I would stop Bill.

I tiptoed out of the attic and snuck down the stairs, trying not to wake anyone. As I entered the kitchen, I checked the clock on the microwave. It read 7:00. I had exactly two hours before anyone would likely get up. Mabel definitely didn't like waking up early, she liked to sleep in, and Meagan would write in her bedroom until she felt hungry enough to go downstairs. The cottage we were staying in had two floors and a basement, and sat on top of a small hill overlooking Gravity Falls. To the left of the house was a large, wooded area, and to the right was a driveway leading down the hill into town. The room I shared with Mabel in the attic was toward the back of the house, and you could just see the top of the chapel in the center of town over the treetops. Our cottage was a bit shabby, I'd admit, but it was homey enough.

I ran out the door towards the woods, grabbing my bag on the way, and slinging on a coat. I ran into the woods a ways, just enjoying the scenery. Running helped clear my head, and refresh me after a particularly bad dream. It was comforting, and the silence enveloped me and wrapped me tight, like a mother would a small child. Mourning Doves chirruped in the dawning sunlight, and patches of sun spilled in-between the branches of the trees onto the forest floor. I sighed with delight and slowed down near a clearing when I had run far enough from the house. I needed time alone with my thoughts, time to figure out what my dream meant. I shrugged off my bag and set it down on a nearby moss-covered log. Then I took out a pen and paper pad and began writing down what I remembered from my dream. It helped if I did this right after I had the dream, so that I could piece together my most recent dreams and sort them out. I walked around in circles, just resting my mind and focusing on Bill. Suddenly, I ran into a tree and fell backwards, my pen and paper flying behind me. "Ouch.." I moaned, and I rubbed my nose where it had hit the tree. It was a very strange tree, twisted in all sorts of odd places, and it stretched higher into the sky than any other tree around it. It also was embedded with a multitude of different colors and swirls unlike any tree I had ever seen. It was...fascinating. "Woah..." I breathed, and I reached out to touch it, but before my hand made contact, a dozen small lights zipped out from behind the tree, and everything went dark.

* * *

The air moved with a soft swish around me. It was gentle, comforting. Lonely, forbidden and isolating darkness enveloped me, holding me hostage. When I finally came to, I realized I could move. Having realized this, I began to twitch my muscles. Slowly at first, then building in intensity until I could feel.

Feeling: A sensation like no other.

I clenched my hands into tight fists and then stretched them open again. Then I found that I was lying on a surface. It was warm, like honeyed milk. My senses carefully awakened one by one, first my sense of touch, and working up and around my body until I found I could see. I opened my eyes, blinking cautiously, my vision being still slightly blurred. I had no glasses; I had no bag; I had no pen or pad of paper.

A world, a vision like no other greeted me. It moved timelessly, soundlessly, an endless mass of clouds and dust and particles. The air surrounding me faded through an infinite amount of colors, some whizzing past like frisbees, others just beautifully floating by. They tickled my face with soft hands. It felt so solid, so real, that it was almost as if they were alive. The colors drifted along on an invisible breeze only known to them. I found that is I listened carefully, the colors also hummed and buzzed slightly. A language was being passed between them. They communicated so effortlessly, like water flowing down a ravine. Nothing possibly amounted to it. I could not understand or comprehend what they were saying, yet it was almost as if I could _feel_ what they said. When a word was kind, it stroked me and it was soft, like a blanket. When it was harsh, it hurt me, but I did not cry out. I could not, it was so fascinating.

This world I found myself in was incredible. My senses were heightened, my soul was alive and my mind was reeling from it all. How did I come to be here?

I eased myself up onto my feet and began walking in a direction. As I walked, the colors began to get few and far between, until all that remained was a large, blank white space. It reminded me of something familiar, something that I knew, but I could not place it. I was almost about to sit down and take a rest, feeling that if I was going to be here for a while I had better enjoy it, when the ground fell out from beneath me. I screamed for all it was worth, but nothing could save me. The ground rushed up to meet me, long green grass blades stretched out like open hands. I hollered with all the breath I had left in me, and let my body go limp to prepare for the impact.

* * *

Voices echo.

Hands lift.

My heart pounds.

Time begins again.

I am alive, that much I can tell.

I don't know where I am.

But at this point, I don't know if I care anymore.

I feel someone touch my pocket, then search inside and yank something roughly out.

"Right now, I don't know if I should reward you or shove you off a bridge." I hear a scratchy, hoarse voice say. The person has a slight accent, and sounds like a woman. The owner of the voice takes my arm and pushes a small, cold needle into my skin. My arm immediately goes soft and limp, like jelly.

Some people would freak out if that happened. At the moment, I'm too confused or tired to care. Also, not to mention all my senses were at that moment very blurred and dulled.

"Can I pick?" A second, sarcastic and sardonic voice issues from behind me. This person sounds slightly older than the first, but a male. The first person chuckles, then sighs. "No, I'm afraid not. And stop being so sarcastic, this is serious. This kid could be actually be really hurt, _mon ami_."

I automatically translate in my head and discover that the woman is french. The man must be her friend, and judging from the needle that they used on my arm, and the potent smells of cleanser in the air, I must be in a type of doctor's office. But the sedatives take their effect on me, and I slip back into slumber once more.

I catch some last fragments of words being spoken as I drift off...

 _"What about the sisters?"_

 _"If they're anything like the brother, they'll be fine. He put up quite a fight. Besides, the oldest is 15 years old. They can handle themselves."_

 _"Alright...well, Fidds is on the way, he'll be there by daybreak...Then we can finally start the Plan."_

 _"And manage the Time..."_

* * *

 _ **I'd like to give a huge shout-out to Fantasy Fan 223 for her awesome title suggestion! Thank you so much! She suggested it because it fit with both sides of the story, both the fact that Bill is still here, as well as Meagan trying to fit in, almost like they're saying "I'm still here, don't forget me!"**_ _ **I appreciate it, and I hope everyone thinks it fits. But if you guys do have any other suggestions, I'm open to anything. I might use one of them as a chapter title, who knows. Also, I got some ideas from** **Crazycatscarmen, so thanks to her too! Also, one last big thanks to all the continued support and love from my fellow followers and lovers! I wouldn't be continuing this story if it wasn't for you guys! I feel like this chapter is a bunch of fluff, but I put it here anyways just for fun. Tragedy is fun I guess. Also, the story needed some Bill action. XD**_ _ **I don't have many ideas yet for the next chapter, but I'm open to suggestions as always.**_ _ **Next chapter should be out soon, maybe later this week, idk.**_

 _ **(I'm gonna) wait for it.**_

 _ **Dipper: Yay! *screeches* My very own chapter!**_

 _ **Mabel: Shut up Dipper, you just blacked out and ended up in a hospitaly-thingy or something.**_

 _ **Dipper: Yea,..that's true...**_

 _ **Stan: Hey kids. I heard some loud screeching, show me the object of ridicule! *rubs hands greedily***_

 _ **Dipper: Stan! Why's everyone here, what, is Soos going to be here too?!**_

 _ **Soos: Wazzup dude bros.**_

 _ **Me: Soos! Why are you here?!**_

 _ **Dipper: Go home Soos.**_

 _ **Soos: You got it dude. *salutes, then whispers* I'm not here... *slinks into the shadows***_

 _ **Dipper: Wait! Come back! SAVE ME!**_

 _ **Me: Ahhhh, tragedy. I love it.**_


	5. Chapter 5: Revelation

**AN Update (5/3/18): Ah ha! Silly me. There's been some confusion, and I can't blame you. (Sorry NeonArt1!) Here, let me clear some things up.**

 **This chapter actually begins with a flashback to a time right after Ford lost Fiddleford, and before he sent a letter to Stan asking for his help. Then, the next part switches back to my original story, back on the Stan O' War.**

 **Sorry about that. Hope this helps some people!** **Now, ONWARDS AOSHIMA! On to the story!**

* * *

 _Buzzz..._ Please respond.

 _Buzzzzz..._ Pick up, pick up!

 _Buzzt-_

"Hallo? This is Pines Pawns, General Manager Filbrick Pines speaking."

"Dad, this is Ford. We need to talk."

"Hey Fordsy! How's my favorite valedictorian? What's up?"

I nervously twirled the phone line around my finger, and glanced down at my paper. I had written down everything I would say, preparing for this moment. But when I finally had the chance...I just couldn't seem to form words. They escaped me, and I sat there on the phone for several silent seconds, as they ticked by one by one. I hesitated, knowing that this was the first time I had talked to my father in almost three years. _Why was I hesitating?_ I demanded of myself, inwardly cursing at my own stupid silence. _Say something, you idiot nerd!_

My Cipher research was laid out on the table next to me, my calculations spread across the papers. I had written those with my own six fingers...no, with _Bill's_ six fingers. Stupid trust. Stupid, desperate heart. Stupid, desperate me. The silence continued on as I thought back to my own failures and mistakes of the past decade. The portal was still downstairs, almost ready to go, but that had failed me. Bill had tricked me. How hadn't I had seen him for who he was? Just an evil, bloodthirsty demon. And losing Fiddleford over it, my only true friendship, was pointless and horrible. Revenge tickled me, beckoned me closer. I needed to exact revenge upon him for what he did.

Or did I? Was violence really the answer? My mother would have never hurt someone, my father wouldn't have either. Stan wouldn't have...He never hurt a fly, big ol' Stanley. Friendly Stan. Best-friend twin Stan. My Stan.

And anguish and grief passed over me as the endless, ever-expanding silence loomed overhead. What I would give to have him back. And something- love? Care? Hope?- engulfed me, and tears spilled from my eyes. I coughed and gasped as my throat closed very tightly and very unexpectedly. _Get a grip, Stanford! Emotions aren't new to you.._.

But they overcame me and conquered me, and I spilled out all my hidden truths and fears out to my father on the phone. All the years lost, the decade of torment, my family ripped apart, my twin lost and dead, it all came crashing out in sobs and cries and pleas to my father.

"Son! What's going on? Are you ok?" My father was caught off guard. He sounded awkward and far away, like in a dream. I could tell he didn't know what to do. He wasn't exactly Softy-McSoftertons. He was grim, stone-cold, hard Filbrick Pines. My dad.

Emotion washed over again, a wave of salty tears splashing on my counter-top, and I cried harder. I sank to the floor of my kitchen, the linoleum surface slick with my sea of emotions. _Where did strong ol' Fordsy go? Huh? Not so strong now, you week-willed hayseed..._

And I blubbered out all my hidden fears to my father in one big rush of gurgled words and phrases,

"D-dad, it'ss all m-my f-fault, mine, St-Stanley's gone, portal...Fiddleford... _I'm_ the sc-screw-up n-now...What would you and mom think of me if you saw me..."

My dad remained in silence, just letting me rant, letting it all spill out. _I love my dad._

Then I quickly gathered up myself, regained my composure, and let out a huge sigh.

"Dad," I began again, my voice still trembling a bit but not so much as earlier, "I've been doing some research..."

"Of course you have! What's it this time, unicats?" My dad chuckled on the other end, and after awhile I joined in too, glad that he wasn't mad with me or bringing up what had happened earlier.

"Haha, very funny." I said, in a mock-serious tone. "But seriously. I need your help."

"Ok..."

"And it's not what you think."

* * *

Stan was slipping in and out of consciousness. When he was asleep, he tossed and turned, and I never took my eyes off of him. He mumbled jumbled bits of nonsensical phrases, twitching his body in random spots at random times like mom after a tenth cup of coffee. This was the state he was in for most of the time. This was when I would go into scientist mode, researching and reading and writing every cure I could find, anything that would help Stan's condition.

When he awoke, he spoke in strange, foreign tongues as he came out of his daze. Spanish,...then Dutch,...then Cantonese,...back to English,...German...

After a while I couldn't keep track anymore, I just listened intently and wrote down as much as I could handle. I needed to keep track of his progession, if there was any, from the time he had first lost consciousness until he got better, lest there was a way to fix him. I thought that if there was perhaps enough data that I would be able to finally concoct a cure.

Then he would snap, shake his head and look around, then sigh and lean back on his pillow. He'd stay awake for a while...we'd talk, discuss what happened, and I would ask him how he was doing and write down hourly reviews,...then he'd slip back into that blank state of mind and begin again.

Even through all of this, I was constantly watching over him, never letting my sight leave him except to write short notes in my journal. I would not leave my brother for the world.

Occasionally I let my mind drift, if not only for a moment, to think back. I needed to remember all my training from back when I had been in school. Medics wasn't my strong suit, but it had been my minor, and I intended to seize control and take advantage of that small opportunity. But as my mind wandered, as medicines and equations flooded my mind, I couldn't help but go back to _him_.

The insane yellow triangle. _Bill Cipher_.

He invaded my thoughts and I went back to my research on _him_. How he had helped with the portal...why had I ever trusted him? Trust, such a fickle word, such a small, flavorless, useless, empty promise...

But then it hit me like a brick wall.

 _"The bootstrap paradox!"_ I cried out, and I whooped and hollered at my revelation, at my sudden epiphany, at my insight of key information lost and forgotten. Stanley sat up and groaned, mumbling something along the lines of _"_ Sixer, turn it down a few notches, will ya?"

I quickly apologized to my brother, waving a six-fingered hand at him offhandedly, then opened up my journal to the page I was looking for.

Page 394: _The Paradox of Bill Cipher's Reincarnation & The AXOLOTL_

Of course, why hadn't I have thought of it before! It was all clear to me now, the funny way Stan acted, how he always wanted to redeem himself,...but he couldn't have known, could he? I turned back to him, and I waved the journal in the air at him excitedly before saying, "Look what I found! It may explain some things..."

But I trailed off when I caught a look at Stan's face.

* * *

"So you knew?"

"Of course I knew! I never expected twins,...then you two came along,...the ultrasound _never_ revealed twins, not once, it was just you, Ford." My dad huffed gruffly on the phone, and I cringed as it made my ears ring. But I smiled with pride as I took in that last thought. _Just you, Ford..._

"So it was only a singular baby, on that ultrasound?"

"Yep. That's it. And we knew from the moment the doctor said it was a boy what we'd name you. Stanford had been my late cousin's name, and we had done everything together. That name meant so much to me, so I figured I'd be doin' 'im a favor if I graced you with it too."

"Wow, that's just..wow. Thanks dad, I had no idea."

"Aw, it's nuttin'." He replied, but I could tell he appreciated my thanks. This conversation was going well so far, in my opinion. He hadn't gotten mad at me after I had explained the portal or Fiddleford. He was still on the phone. He was actually forgiving me for leaving them and running away to Gravity Falls! He had understood that I was human. Just as that thought entered and left my mind, my stomach clenched. "Gah..." I moaned, and the phone slipped a bit from my grasp.

"Hang on, dad, I need to..uh...grab something-" My stomach lurched again quite unpleasantly, stronger this time. "I'll be right back! I promise, call you back!" And I cut the line off, then raced up the stairs, ran full tilt into the bathroom, and locked the door behind me. Then I proceeded to empty out the contents of my stomach into the basin. After my stomach finished torturing me, it dry-heaved for a long time before it let go of me. I slumped, nearly unconscious, to the floor of my bathroom, the room spinning around me. My last thoughts from when I was on the phone swirled through my head. _He had understood that I was human._

 _At least, I'm pretty sure I am._ Wait, now I was doubting myself?!

 _What makes you so sure?_ My dark side flared up, revving its engines.

 _Because I can still make mistakes! Because I forgave my brother, and everyone else who crossed me!_

 _But why? Because you didn't want to be seen as the bad guy. Because you were selfish._

 _I am not! Right...?_

 _Not so sure now, are ya?_ Why was I having this argument with a voice in my head?

 _Who are you?!_

 _You know who I am._

 _Do not._

 _Do too._

 _Not._

 _Too._

 _Not._

 _Not._

 _Too._

 _Ha! Tricked ya!_ A cackle filled my head. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever witnessed. And I had witnessed quite a lot of strange things in my time in Gravity Falls.

 _Why am I arguing with my own head?! I've never done anything like this before!_

 _That is because the Time is up._ A mysterious aura arose, and I hesitated before asking my next thought. The voice had a demeanor similar to an old pal of mine, thought pal wasn't exactly what I'd describe him as. More as an old fiend.

 _What are you talking about?_ I began to panic and hyperventilate, I became light-headed, and I slumped farther down towards the floor.

 _I am your inner Bill Cipher._

 _No._

Silence. The other voice didn't respond, so I sat there thinking hard about what he meant. The room had finally stopped spinning, but it was all cattywampus. It looked like an old film, slightly but not all the way colored. I closing one eye, my left eye, tentatively, and it went back to a fully colored room. But when I closed my right eye, and left my left eye open, a bright yellow light shone out, and the room went completely grey-scale. I gasped, and my heart nearly stopped. It reminded me of something...or some _one_...

This wasn't happening. I didn't know what it meant but it was not good. Then the voice spoke up again.

 _See? I am in you, a part of you, just sleeping stealthily, waiting for the Time._

 _That's not true and I know it._

Just then the world took a dive and I pitched to the floor, waking up in a colorless world.

A grey-scale, mind world.

A world I knew like the back of my hand, a place I had been to one too many times.

The Mindscape.

* * *

There was a brief hiatus in which we just stared at each other, Stan with a blank, colorless, stone-cold stare, me trying my hardest to stare back just as intently. There was something off about him. He was breathing, that was good. He wasn't speaking in tongues anymore, and his strength seemed to have returned miraculously...

So what _was_ it?

His eyes. That's what.

They just looked dead at me, not blinking, not wavering, just keeping me under his steady gaze. It made me, for a split second, _fear_ Stanley Pines, my twin brother.

But I snapped out of the strange staring sequence that was happening between us and instead moved my attention back to my journal. "Stan, you just _have_ to see this! Look, it explains everything, you know Bill Cipher, right?" I looked up expectantly at him, but was once again met with the blank stare.

"Stan,..." I said tentatively, and I reached a quivering hand out towards my brother. I advanced upon him, slowly, lest he snap. "Stanley, come on, snap out of it." I demanded of him, but not until I reached his side did he do anything.

And it was the thing I least expected.

His eyes -brown, deep chocolate brown, a brown I would love and follow to the ends of the Earth- glittered deadly gold and black, and they shone with a yellow gleam. His pupils were slits, cat-like pupils, and I flinched so hard I fell backwards onto the deck of the boat. _Noooooo, no no no!_ Red flags shot up, cluttering my senses.

"You're not Stanley!" I screamed, and I scrambled back up on my feet and took up one of the many baseball bats Stan had lying around the boat.

" **I'm sorry to inform you, Sixer, but you're correct, your brother is currently not with us."** Then Stan, or whatever had possessed him, slowly lifted himself off the bed and slithered towards me, hovering mere inches above the ground.

 **"WELCOME BACK, STANFORD. LONG TIME NO SEE."**

It was then that I realized we were no longer sailing in a beautiful, dark blue sea. It was black. Actually, I looked around myself and saw that it was all devoid of color; grey-scale. We were back in the Mindscape.

"Cipher." I growled. I set down my bat. That would not help me against an insane, manipulative, influential, demonic yellow triangle.

 **"DIDYA MISS ME FORDSY? ADMIT IT, YOU MISSED ME!"**

His mouth curled up into a mouthless, sadistic grin, and I had to try my hardest to refrain from seeing my lunch again. I knew this might happen, it was only a matter of time. My journal had warned me against the possible outcomes of destroying him with a memory gun, but I hadn't heeded the warnings. I had been hardheaded and foolish in my carelessness and haste, and now he was back.

"I'm not even going to ask how you came back." I mumbled. I knew I was defenseless, and completely at his mercy, but at this point I didn't even care anymore. He had won, like he always did.

 **"YOU DON'T EVEN WANT A VERY LONG SUMMARY OF HOW I CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD, MCFLY?"** He cackled at my visible discontent, but I wouldn't give in to his mind games.

"Quit the stalling, Cipher. If you're here you must want something. Most likely from me, I take it?"

 **"WHY, YOU'RE QUITE THE OBSERVANT ONE, ALWAYS WERE, SIXER. YES, I NEED A...FAVOR, YOU MIGHT CALL IT."**

Oh, no no no. His favors were always horrible, one-way deals to destruction. I wasn't _that_ dumb.

"No, Bill. You may have tricked me once (or twice, maybe three times...) but I won't give in this time."

 **"NOT EVEN FOR THIS?"**

He held out a cupped, blue-flamed hand towards me, and it was the last thing I saw before I shrieked in sheer terror and fainted on the spot.

* * *

I rose off the floor with ease, the pain from earlier gone. The fact that I was in this world could only mean one thing.

A maniacal laugh sounded behind me, and it echoed throughout my bathroom. It was high-pitched and pure evil. I knew that laugh...

 **"LOOKING FOR SOMEONE?"**

I gasped and spun around- yes. There he was.

The yellow demonic triangle flew towards me, and he tipped his black top hat in greeting. When he was only a few feet from me, he pulled a black cane into existence and cackled again, smiling mouthlessly at me. He sure enjoyed making me uncomfortable, that was for sure.

 **"MY OH MY-"** He split into two Ciphers, **"OH MY-"** four ciphers, **"OH MY-"** eight ciphers, **"OH MY MY MY."** ten Ciphers circled me now, glowing that ethereal yellow glow and each spinning their own black cane. Though I wasn't fooled; I knew they were all the same entity. Bill had the strange power to split into himself at will, though I hadn't pondered further into it. It was just another one of his creepy, weird quirks. They abruptly stopped spinning around me then, and leaned in closer as I flinched in terror.

 **"AREN'T YOU A SIGHT FOR SORE EYE?"** The multiple Bills blinked their singular, large, slit-pupiled cat eyes at me, almost innocently. But I knew Bill was far from innocent.

 **"STANFORD FILBRICK PINES, MY OLD PAL."**

"Bill Cipher." I sneered back, contempt and vile lining every syllable. "What do you want?"

 **"COMON, BRAINIAC, IT'S NOT THAT HARD. I THINK YOU'VE FIGURED OUT BY NOW WHO THAT VOICE WAS."**

So he knew. But I played dumb, not wanting to easily give into him. "What do you mean? What voice?" I pretended to be insecure and paranoid, so I nervously glanced around like a dork as if the 'voice' would suddenly appear and attack me.

 **"OH QUIT PLAYING DUMB, IQ, YOU KNEW I'D BE BACK."** One of the Bills closest to me leaned in and flicked my overlarge nose, then another one came and ruffled my hair, almost fondly. But I knew he was just belittling me, making me think less of myself, thinking I was underneath him.

 **"YOU THINK SHUTTING DOWN THAT PORTAL COULD STOP WHAT I HAVE PLANNED?"** I shuddered at the mention of the biggest mistake and regret of my life.

 **"THE CIPHER WHEEL WAS MY LONGEST PET-PROJECT. NOTHING CAN STOP THAT. THE PORTAL WAS ONLY A TASTE-TESTER."**

So the Cipher Wheel was something more! I knew it! I could've almost whooped with joy at that moment, but Bill recognized the excitement on my face, and I tensed.

 **"SO, YOU KNOW A BIT ABOUT MY LITTLE WHEEL, DO YOU?"** He then transformed back into one Bill, and picked me up by the neck of my sweater.

"Put me down!" I hollered, but of course he wouldn't comply.

Then he displayed a holographic image of the Cipher Wheel, the Zodiac wheel with everyday items on it. A six-fingered hand, a pine tree, a shooting star, a question mark, a bag of ice, spectacles, a llama, a blood-red heart, a pentagram star, and a strange fish-looking symbol which I didn't have a name for. There it was, the most confusing game of hopscotch ever. A deadly prophecy that I had never been able to comprehend.

 **"THIS WHEEL IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE."** Bill declared, and he held me higher and out of the way as he pointed to each one.

 **"THESE SYMBOLS REPRESENT VERY SPECIFIC PEOPLE WHO WILL RISE UP AGAINST ME."** He continued, and I squirmed in his grasp. He did not let go.

 **"IF UNITED, THEY COULD POTENTIALLY DESTROY ME AND END MY REIGN."**

I got excited then. Bill Cipher, defeated just because of 10 lucky people? Incredible!

 **"I SENSE YOUR EXCITEMENT. BUT BE WARNED, IT ALSO COMES WITH A DANGER. IF NOT PUT TOGETHER CORRECTLY, IT COULD END UP IN A WORSE SITUATION THAN THERE WAS TO BEGIN WITH."**

What could possibly be worse than Bill's reign over the entire world? I could not wrap my mind around that thought.

 **"AND THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU. REMEMBER, REALITY IS AN ILLUSION,** **THE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM,** **BUY GOLD, BYEEEE!"**

And I collapsed in a heap on the floor of my bathroom, the world once more restored to its original color. But the dream still haunted me. My stomach lurched once more, and I staggered back to the toilet as thoughts swarmed in my head...

A situation worse than there was to begin with...

* * *

 _ **MUWHAHAHAHA, and this is where I leave you! XD**_

 _ **Yay! My longest chapter (probably, I think) yet! I'm so excited, it has the most words out of all my chapters so far. Whoop! But I promise, either the next chapter or the chapter after will be MUCH longer. ;D**_

 _ **Although I do have an awesome title, I'd still like to say that you guys are welcome to suggest any others, I'm always open to more than one suggestion! Just PM me a cool title and explain why you think it fits, and I may use it for either this book or later ones! Or, I may use it as a chapter title, mine so far aren't that great...**_

 _ **So, what do you guys think? Any theories, or suggestions for what's happening? HA HA I left it on a cliff-hanger! Lemme know what you think!**_

 _ **Oh oh oh! One more thing before we skip to the fun part- I have a challenge for you! I need a good OC to match Bianca, be her buddy. I already have something in mind, but I'd like to hear your ideas! I may or may not use one of your suggestions, so please don't be offended if I don't use yours. I may add it in later and use it as someone else instead of Bianca's friend, who knows? I just need some ideas. It'd be a guy, I'd like a little bit of romance perhaps, and a good description would be much appreciated. He's going to be Bianca's partner-in-crime, and he'll come in handy later...**_ _ **But now, to the best part of all my Author's Notes! (sorry for the awfully long part above)**_

 _ **Bill: MY REIGN OF HUMAN EXISTENCE BEGINS AGAIN**_

 _ **Ford: You never ruled humanity.**_

 _ **Bill: YOU DON'T KNOW MY TIMELINES OLD MAN**_

 _ **Ford: Well, I'm certainly glad I don't live in that timeline.**_

 _ **Bill: YOU USED TO!**_

 _ **Ford: Woah, I did?! *squeals in delight* So fascinating!**_

 _ **Bill: UNTIL I MOVED YOU OUT OF MY WAY! *cackles evilly***_

 _ **Ford: Um, ok, that's a bit dark...**_

 _ **Bill: I AM THE VERY DEFINITION OF DARK, STANFORD PINES.**_

 _ **Ford: Well, that's one thing we agree on. I think that's the only thing we've ever agreed on.**_

 _ **Bill: YOU WILL AGREE WITH MANY MORE THINGS ONCE I RULE OVER THIS DIMENSION ONCE MORE**_

 _ **Me: Ok, tone it down Bill. Also, your time is up, your chapter's full.**_

 _ **Bill: NOOOOO- *gets cut off by the curtain falling on him***_

 _ **Me: Ha ha. Funny.**_


	6. Chapter 6: Infiltration

**_(Yes, I did change Bianca's name to Meagan. I just thought it would fit better since Mabel and Dipper's names both start with M, so Meagan would fit in with that trend. I got it from Fantasy Fan 223's Learning To Love fanfic. Sorry about the switch-up, but yea. Meagan is Bianca. I updated the other chapters with Bianca in it as well to say Meagan, if you want to look, idk. Also, this chapter starts out with Meagan, just fyi so you don't get confused.)_**

* * *

I was having the strangest dream.

How did I know it was a dream?

Well, first off, the world wasn't usually all black and white.

There's no way I could've gotten to the middle of a creepy-looking wheat field by myself.

There was also the fact that I couldn't really smell, taste, touch, hear, or see much of anything.

Also, real life didn't consist of yellow demonic-looking floating triangles.

Wait, _what?!_

 **"Why, hello there!"** It floated closer to me, and I screamed and fell backwards into the wheat field. It was a glowing, bright neon yellow pyramid that floated above the ground. It had no mouth, just a singular, cat-like, slit-pupiled eye. It wore a black top hat, a black bow tie, and would otherwise be a very dapper gentlemen (if he even was a man, I wasn't quite sure of its gender) despite the fact that it was an _i_ _nsane demonic triangle!_

" _Who are you? What is this place? Why am I here? GET AWAY FROM ME!"_ I screeched. I then started scrambling backwards into the straws of wheat that surrounded me as the yellow triangle (who somehow had a sadistic grin on its face despite the fact that it had no mouth) conjured up a black cane and began twirling it around.

 **"Yeesh, kid, don't be so 'fraidy."** It then giggled, **"ACTUALLY, YEA DO! BECAUSE I'M AN INSANE DREAM DEMON HERE TO TAKE YOUR SOUL!"** The triangle then continued to laugh maniacally as I screamed in defiance.

It continued to laugh for a very uncomfortable amount of time, so my tension slowly lessened, although it didn't completely disappear...but it was replaced by confusion. Who was this dude? It said it was a dream demon...which meant this was definitely a dream...

I risked a glance around. I was obviously in a wheat field, that much I knew, but what was that in the distance? I got up and dusted myself off, then, after making sure the "dream demon" wasn't looking (It was still cackling), I jogged towards the objects on the horizon to get a closer look. The closest object was a broken swing set, and half of it was jammed into the mud, making it lopsided. Then next to it, an upside down metal triangular piece. It looked a bit like a part from an alien spaceship. And further out...was that a boat? Wooden planks stuck out in all directions, and a tall mast with a stripped and ripped up sail was stuck in the middle of it, reaching high into the air. It was a very awkward place to be in. I had never dreamed of this stuff before, and none of it belonged together anyways. A swing set, a metal hunk, and a boat.

However, my musings were once again interrupted by a now familiar and very distinguishable shrieking voice.

 **"Now, now, now, where do you think you're going? I haven't finished ranting to you yet, little Fireball!"**

He (I had decided it was a "he" since he wore a bow tie and top hat, and also spoke in a voice that sounded a lot like a man even if it was very high-pitched) appeared in front of me with a bright flash and his eye locked onto me, freezing me to the spot. I then began to float upwards towards him, my arms and legs pinned to my sides and my muscles locked. I tried to squirm and escape his grip, but I was petrified by his glare. He seemed to have worked some type of magic on me.

When I had floated close enough so I was right in front of his eye, his gaze turned from insane, creepily cheerful, to stern and serious.

 **"Now that I've finally gotten you to listen, let's get down to business. I know you've been wondering who I am (among other things, I can read your mind you know, some of the stuff you think about me is _very_ rude indeed) so I shall tell you. I go by many names. Some refer to me as Dream Demon, others as the Illuminati, and still others like to call me Triangle Guy, Isosceles Monster, or The Beast with Just One Eye."**

His eye crinkled at the last one, most likely in disgust as he sighed, rolled his eye, then looked back at me. I shrugged.

"I think I like Triangle Guy, it suits you." I said, and the remark seemed to have hit its mark because he shook with rage and tightened his grip on my body. I gasped and struggled, my supply of oxygen being cut off, my limbs turning cold.

 **"I could kill you _RIGHT NOW._ " **His voice went dangerously low on the last words, and his body went from yellow to an ethereal and unearthly dark red. His body glowed black (Glowed? How does someone glow black? What the heck?!) and he pulled me closer. At the last second, however, he seemed to get a grip on himself and let me go, turning back to his normal yellow color.

 **"But I won't, mainly because I like to watch you suffer."** He chuckled. **"Now, where was I? Oh yes, my name. The name most people know me by is BILL CIPHER."**

Oh, no. Oh no no no no no. Not him. I had never met him before, but I knew from the twins' summer who he was. The triangle guy they had defeated after Weirdmaggedon. But hadn't he died? The twins had locked him in Grunkle Stan's brain and used a memory gun on him to erase him forever. Then Stan had gotten his memory back, miraculously...

 **"And that's how I came back too."** Bill interrupted my thoughts. He had been listening, how sweet and kind of him. I growled at his eavesdropping.

"Don't you know what _personal space_ is, you idiot?!"

 **"NOPE"** He cackled again.

"Well, so if Stan came back, you did too?" I asked him, but knowing him he probably wouldn't answer my question at all.

 **"Right again, gumdrop! You'll just have to figure that one out for yourself."** Then his palms lit up with blue flames, and I tensed in anticipation of what was coming next. Would he burn me? Roast me until my flesh was crisp? Eat me?

 **"Oh come on, I'm not _that_ insane. I know an opportunity when I see one, and I'm not letting you go to waste in my _stomach_ of all places! But I do want to make a _deal."_**

Oh boy. My siblings had warned me of this. His deals were final, never sufficiently summarized, and were always twisted in some way to make him benefit from it more than you did, if you did at all. Dipper had lost his body because of it, Mabel had begun Weirdmaggedon because of it, and Ford had been harassed, embarrassed, and become paranoid because of it. Stan had even lost his memory, even though he had gotten it back. Most of my family had been brutally scarred because of Bill's horrible deals. There was no way I would fall for it.

"No!" I shouted in a loud, defiant voice, "NEVER! I know what you want, and you won't get it!"

He shrugged. **"I don't think you do know what I _really_ want, Fireball. But I'll let it slide. You're a feisty one, you won't listen to me, and besides, there's other ways to get what I want. It's only a matter of Time."**

Why the heck did he call me Fireball? Also, I had a feeling that the word Time had more significance than he let on,... (And had he just quoted from _Hamilton?_ )

I didn't have time to ponder this, however, because my restraints were very suddenly released and I fell face-first, limp, into the mud.

"Dagnabbit, you." I mumbled, and bubbles of mud rose up and popped around me.

He cackled his evil, maniacal laugh again. He truly was a sadistic person. This sucked and he was laughing at me.

He rose slowly into the air once more, and blue flames engulfed him as he said,

 **" _A darkness approaches, a day will come in the future when everything you care about will change. Until then I'll be watching you. Remember, the moon landing was faked, the New World Order is coming, the Illuminati is always watching, BYEEEE!"_**

And with that, he was gone, and I awoke abruptly to the sound of my alarm clock blaring in my ear.

* * *

 **...** **L'p vwloo khuh...**

* * *

"Should I wear golden sequins with a rising sun, or a bright neon pink puppy with multi-colored pom-poms?" Mabel and I were sitting at the dining room table eating breakfast.

"Sun." I said absent-mindedly.

I sat at the far end of the table and flipped through my _Conspiracy Theory Weekly_ magazine. Mabel sat on my right, cheerfully knitting a new sweater for herself and clad in her pajamas. I, however, was not merely reading a boring magazine, thank you very much, but was contemplating the strange phenomenon of the previous night. That triangle dude hadn't visited me just to mock me, I was sure. There was a hidden message, a secret meaning, to his mysterious appearance in my mindscape last night. Inside my magazine I had placed Dipper's journal 3, and it was open to the Bill Cipher page.

Mabel thanked me for my suggestion, then began stitching in golden sequins and a large sun on the sweater. Her breakfast was finished and her plate was spotless (courtesy of Waddles). Mabel had made us bacon and eggs, but Dipper's plate was sitting untouched and cold on her left.

Mabel sighed and set down her knitting. "Dipper!" She hollered, then got up and trotted to the stairs. "DIPPER!" She yelled, but once again, she was met with only silence.

"He's probably just got his nose stuck in a book." I mumbled. I heard her run up the stairs then, and I hurriedly got up. I rinsed my dish off, pushed my chair in, and hurried over to my bedroom. Thank goodness it was on the first floor, or else Mabel would be suspicious.

Once I got in, I quietly closed the door and locked it behind me, then riffled through my desk drawer. "Come on, come on." I murmured. I could hear Mabel upstairs, her feet pounding hard on the carpet. I paused to listen. She was directly above me, in Dipper's room. I heard her yell his name. _She's almost done, hurry up!_

I gasped as my hand brushed against what I was looking for. I snatched it up, unlocked my door, and hurriedly ran back into the kitchen. I then taped the paper into Journal 3 next to the Bill Cipher page, then snapped the journal shut and placed it back on the table. Then I sat in my seat innocently as if nothing had happened.

Mabel appeared at the foot of the stairs. "He's not in there, nor is he in any other room anywhere. I looked everywhere, Meg!" She was panicking, hard. Mabel's relationship with her twin was _close_ , and if he left mysteriously without telling us or just got lost playing hide-and-seek, Mabel _always_ found him and made him explain. Their twin-bond was tight, almost as if they were one entity sometimes, that's how close it got.

"It's alright, he might be outside studying some type of new species of plant or something." Knowing Dipper's natural curiosity and sometimes overwhelming nerdiness, he could already be dressed and headed out into the woods.

Mabel sat down moodily in her chair. "So much for breakfast. It's cold. Here, Waddles." The fat, pink, sweaty companion of Mabel's waddled into the room and joyfully devoured Dipper's plate.

I watched Waddles with mild interest, but my mind was still stuck on the dream demon. He had visited me, of all people, for a reason...

My vision suddenly went blurry and faded out, only to be replaced by a grey-scale room not unlike the one I had just been in.

It was just like my dream, except that I wasn't in the wheat field anymore, I was in a grey version of our kitchen. I got up and spun around slowly, expecting the worst. If I was here, then _he_ probably was too...

 **"Hey there, Fireball! Miss me?"** _Annnnnd_ yep. There he was.

"No. Leave me alone." I growled.

 **"Feisty as ever! But I'm not here to deliver nightmares this time. I have a warning to give you."** His voice took on an unnaturally serious and demanding tone.

"What do you want? To rip out my teeth? Replace my family with doll heads?" It was a bit dramatic, I admit, but dire circumstances call for dire measures.

 **"HAHA, funny. No, I won't do anything- yet. But remember this poem:**

 **Hidden truths sow hidden lies,**

 **What may be uncovered still now hides,**

 **Follow what your heart desires,**

 **but anything you do does not transpire."**

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" I yelled in frustration. I didn't even know the meaning of transpire, it was Dipper's job to be the nerd!

But he left me again in a haze of blue flames, and I awoke sideways on the floor to the sound of Mabel screaming my name, and my head pounding.

* * *

 **...Uhphpehu pb odvw...**

* * *

"What was the passing-out thing all about?" Mabel asked me worriedly. After I had passed out in the middle of breakfast, she had hauled me in to my room, (I was still freaked out from Bill's appearance, not to mention my limbs were all noodle-y and wonky from shock, so she had carried me) then proceeded to mop my forehead with a damp cloth and whisper soothing words to me until I snapped out of it.

I sighed in content as I awoke. The cloth felt warm and fuzzy against my cold face, and Mabel's words of comfort were helping a lot. I didn't answer her question just yet. I wasn't prepared to give her the full answer, after just arriving in Gravity Falls a day ago, and I didn't think she was ready to face it either. I puzzled over what had happened to me.

After I had escaped from Bill's vision, Mabel had screamed at me until I had awoken. But I hadn't awoken, that was the weird part. My mind had gone into overdrive, and I had been paralyzed from shock and lack of sleep from last night. I couldn't move, or talk or anything, but I still saw and heard and felt everything. I just couldn't respond. My body wouldn't let me. It was the weirdest thing I had ever experienced. If I could describe it in any way possible, it would most likely be under the category of an out-of-body experience. (Look it up kids XD)

Mabel recognized me waking up, so she asked me again.

"Meg-Meg, answer me. Why'd you pass out?" She spoke in soothing tones, but I knew that under her guise she demanded answers.

I sighed in frustration. She'd weasel her way into me all day long and make me tell her anyways.

"All right. This name may stir hatred within you, but please do not interrupt me. I was visited last night."

She completely ignored the first part. Her face instead lit up like a thousand fireworks at the word _visit_. "By dogs? Dogs with hats?!"

She shrieked in delight and it took a while to calm her down. But I managed it. Man, she could get carried away sometimes. Darn that Shooting St-

"Meg, are you alright? What were you going to say?"

Mabel pulled me back to the present, and I ignored that last thought. What had I been thinking?

Her name was Mabel.

Mabel.

May-bell.

M dot A dot B dot E dot L.

 _Mabel._

What a pretty name. Not a common one, either. I'd only ever seen old ladies use it. With their big, poofy white cotton-ball heads and big, old lady soft eyes. Like an owls eyes. A floofy owl. My Great-Uncle Ford was a floofy owl. A smart, nerdy, adorkable, floofy owl. His twin, Stanley, wasn't. Stan was a hard-core conman with a heart of (probably stolen- or fake) gold. Bye-bye gold. I didn't own gold. I needed to buy gold. Buy gold...

 _WHAT?!_

I was going insane. I was sure of it. Is this how going insane feels like? Ranting on and on and on and on until someone snaps you out of it? But would insane people really think that they were insane? If you were insane, how did you know?

"MEAGAN!"

Was it like being sick, you knew you were sick, consciously aware of it? Maybe it wasn't. Maybe being insane made you look at everyone else as insane and not you.

"MEAGAN PINES!" She was shrieking now.

Kind of like how if you were very smart and considered everyone below you just because they didn't understand things the way you did. If you were smart, were other people dumb? Same as if you were completely insane, was everyone else completely sane?

If you were one thing or the other, was everyone completely the opposite just because you were that one thing and no one else could be it too?

"MEAGAN PHOENIX PINES, STOP IT RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Mabel had a freaked-out look on her face, and couldn't completely meet my eyes. She seemed to look, for a moment, what was it? She was shocked, crying, sad, confused, angry...

But was she also _scared_ of me?

And that's what brought me completely and fully back to reality. My little sis couldn't be scared of me. I had to take care of her! She was my family, my sister!

I gasped. Bill was haunting me now. He was inside me, I was sure of it. And I had to get him out, as soon as possible. ASAP.

* * *

 **...** **Skrhqla...**

* * *

Mabel left my room at my request, reluctantly. I had to have time alone with my thoughts.

I sat up, still a bit weak from my black-out, and shuffled over to my mirror. Man, I was a mess. My hair was fluffy and frizzy, and stood up in random places. My glasses were fogged up and lopsided. I was wearing a dark blue sweatshirt and black leggings, but they were wrinkly and crumpled. I was too tired to do anything, so I simply washed my glasses off in my bathroom and placed them delicately back over the bridge of my nose. My face was also pretty sleep-worn and haggard-looking, so I took a damp hand towel and some soap and preceded to rub the fatigue from my face. When I looked at least a little bit decent, I shuffled back out and made my way back to my bed.

But just when I had reached the edge of my mattress, I caught a second glimpse of myself in my mirror. I don't know if it was just because I had cleaned my glasses so they were no longer fuzzy, or had washed my face and combed my hair, but I looked different.

And not just looking-better-because-you-washed-up different.

Not you-look-good-and-not-so-sick-anymore different.

Not even my-mirror-is-somehow-so-close-to-the-bed-I-can-see-myself-when-I-sleep-and-that-is-messed-up different.

My physical appearance had changed. So I moved in for a closer look, curious, yet a bit timid.

What greeted me almost, very nearly, made me scream. There was no possible way. It wasn't physically possible, not mentally possible, not possible in any realistic way. I had done nothing different. I had not dyed it, I had not used a new shampoo brand, I hadn't even touched it.

But my hair was now dirty-blonde. It still had mostly dark-brown strands, sure, but it was slowly turning blonde.

My first thought was _oh no._

My second thought was _interesting...and dangerous._

My third thought was _THIS ISN'T NATURAL RUN NOW._

So I did. I ran all the way back to my bed (literally 2 feet away, I didn't even need to run but I did anyways, because I was _scared as heck._ ) and leaped into my blankets. Then I pulled my blue tie-dye pillow over my head and screamed into my mattress for as long as I could.

I fell asleep to the sound of my own panicked screeching.

* * *

 **...** **Wkhuh'v d uhdvrq...**

* * *

Mabel was silent for a while. She stared, hard, at me. It was a bit frightening actually. I'd never seen her like this. She was always in a good mood, and now she was stone-faced and not talking for the first time in her life.

We sat across from each other at the dining room table. The kitchen was the same as it had been, Dipper's breakfast still sitting there and Waddles lying in Mabel's mess. Mabel studied me. Her hands were propped up underneath her, holding up her head, her elbows resting on the table.

We just sat there. The silence stretched on.

Bill was in my head now. He talked to me through my thoughts, and pummeled me with incentives and offers.

 _Kill Pine Tree and Shooting Star. Get it done and over with, then you can join me on the DARK SIDE._

 _BILL NEVER WILL I EVER DO THAT._

 _But you wanna, so bad, don't you?_

 _I never want to become a soulless monster like you._

I had told her everything, in as much detail as I could muster. From my dream, to the vision and me blacking out, to him haunting me. I even, though it scared me and worried me about what she might say or do, I told her my suspicions.

I told her I might be becoming Cipher himself.

 _Yessssss, succumb to your urges. BECOME ONE WITH ME AND CHAOS._

 _Stop it Bill. I'm not falling for your tricks._

 _Whatever you say, Fireball. I can wait._

 _STOP CALLING ME THAT._

Then, just like that (10 minutes later, but it felt like an eternity) she broke the silence.

"I believe you." Those three words uttered could not have made me more relieved in my entire life. I sighed in relief and sunk 5 inches lower to the ground, my previously perfect posture shattered from her reassurance.

"But I also don't understand. We defeated Bill! We had him trapped, in Grunkle Stan's mindscape. How could he have escaped?!" She stood up so fast it happened in the blink of an eye.

"GET OUT!" She screamed, then dragged me out of my chair and into the living room. I stumbled clumsily behind her, not knowing what she was about to do. Would she stamp on my head? Try to sling me around to force Bill out? Knock me unconscious and do tests on me to figure out the most rational solution to destroying him?

No, not the last one. Only someone as nerdy as Ford would do that.

 _HA. Sixer's a riot. Do you know I possessed him more than once, and he didn't even care?_

Instead, however, Mabel sat me down on the couch, took out Journal 3 (Where had that come from?), and began to _read_. I just gaped at her, open-mouthed and wide-eyed.

"What?" She snapped, "I'm trying to help you out. _Someone_ should do something, since Dipper isn't here."

 _Poor Pine Tree, not even here to help you mindless flesh-sticks out. Whatever will you do without him?_

 _We WILL defeat you Bill. One way or another._

 _And if plan A doesn't work?_

 _There's a whole alphabet to choose from. We can work all the way to Z if need be._

That shut him up.

Mabel then set the book down and scooched closer to me on the carpet. "I think I may have found a solution, but it won't be easy."

"What is it?" Anticipation and anxiety crept up my spine.

"It's a mind-seeing spell. I can cast it and go into your mind. It's the same thing Me, Dipper, and Soos did when we rescued Grunkle Stan from Bill."

I nodded. I remembered the incident when Mabel had named the three of them the "Dreamscaperers".

 _Haha, they "defeated" me. It was just a minor setback. This will never work._

 _Yes. it. WILL. Shut it._

 _You know what? Maybe instead of having Shooting Star help you, just let her down. The kitchen scissors are right there._

 _NO._

"So, if I do this, you probs won't remember it. Like, Grunkle Stan didn't even know we did it. But we didn't tell him so, yea. But I'm telling you so, yea. You might know. Idk."

She even pronounced the acronym "idk". It was cute.

 _Typical Shooting Star._

 _Shut up._

"Alright." I sighed. "Anything to get him out. I don't want to listen to him suggesting things to me anymore." And he was, constantly. Suggesting I murder the twins, it would be soooo easy he claimed. Or murdering myself. It wasn't that bad he said.

It made me want to strangle him.

"Let's do this."

* * *

 **...** **Qdphv kdyh d vljqlilfdqfh** **...**

* * *

 _ **Ok, lots of spoilers if you're decoding all these messages and figuring them out, and the poem is definitely something I am proud of. I'm not all that good at poetry and that was pretty good by my standards.**_

 _ **Now, go and decipher, my fellow nerds! 'nuff said, time for some mindless fluff.**_

 ** _Mabel: *from backstage* GRAPPLING HOOK_**

 _ **Bill: *Is hit full-on by the grappling hook and knocked offstage* CURSE YOU SHOOTING STAAAARRRRR**_

 ** _Mabel: THE POWER OF THE GRAPPLING HOOK_**

 ** _Sorry, I'm out of ideas. I don't even know anymore, I'm pooped after writing this chapter. Please read, comment/review, and maybe love and follow below. Thanks!_**


	7. Chapter 7: Trapped

After Bill left me, I remained on the floor of my bathroom, gasping and clutching the toilet basin, for a very long time.

Once I had regained my posture and my nausea was gone, however, I flailed down the stairs, jogged into the kitchen, retrieved my journal, and began to write. Furiously.

Cipher had come back to me. He had warned me. He had never done this before. Usually his warnings were meaningless and only pertained to him. But this had been different. He had warned human existence.

Since when did an all-seeing, demonic, power hungry, inter-dimensional being of unlimited, infinite chaos want to _help_ human existence?

It wasn't as if it was doing him any good.

But I continued to write anyways, ever the nerd, and cataloged everything I could remember from my talk on the phone with my dad, until now.

After I was finished, I set down my pen and massaged my fingertips as I looked it over. The Cipher page was full now, full to the brim with horrible incantations and meaningless things Bill had said to me, but I had wrote it down anyways, in case it came in handy later. My writing cramp was horrible, and my pencil had caused a dent in the skin on my middle finger where it rested, but it had been worth it. I needed to remember everything, no matter what. No matter what cost, I needed it all. Cipher hid everything, and even the most small and innocent things he said might contain some deadly secret within.

My page was full of cramped and small writings, but even still, one thing stood out to me the most. I had written it in bold, and I knew that this had meaning, despite everything else.

 **IF UNITED, THEY COULD POTENTIALLY DESTROY CIPHER AND END HIS REIGN.** **BUT IT ALSO COMES WITH A DANGER. IF NOT PUT TOGETHER CORRECTLY, WE COULD END UP IN A WORSE SITUATION THAN THERE WAS TO BEGIN WITH.**

 **IT COULD TEAR THE VERY FABRIC OF OUR DIMENSION APART.**

* * *

Bill looked on with mild interest and curiosity as Stanford fainted.

Humans, pfft. They were such weaklings, flesh-sticks, bags of bones. So easily weakened and manipulated. And all he had to do was show Ford his future if he didn't take his offer. He couldn't have just screamed, could he? He just had to faint. Typical Sixer. The nerd was an emotion sack. Burdened with heavy loads of feelings and such.

Well, Bill Cipher didn't have feelings. He had deals. They were pretty much the same thing.

Right?

Well, Stanford could take his little nap. Naps meant playtime. He could possess him, make him fall off the boat, make his slit his throat, make him do _anything_ really. All he had to do was give his slumbering soul a little push into the mindscape, and take Sixer's body out for a joyride.

But he was in Stanley's body, and given his current situation, he wasn't exactly in the right position to possess bodies at the moment. He had a job to do. Also, Ford's metal plate made the process a bit more complicated.

Ever since Mackerel had recovered his memories, Bill had been growing alongside him. As Stan's memory got better, so did Bill. It was a slow, excruciating process that had taken time and much waiting in the mindscape, but it had been worth it.

Now, Bill was a part of Stan, and he could do what he pleased, as long as he kept himself inside him. It was frustrating, knowing that his soul was tied to his, but there was nothing he could do and it was out of his control, so Bill had let it slide.

Just this once. Just for world manipulation, he could let it slide.

Now there was the small problem of what to do. He could put Ford downstairs, maybe tie him up, and turn the boat around and head to-

No. His job was very specific. He only needed to do one thing.

So he scanned the boat, looking for a writing utensil. _Sixer always has something around, comon, it can't be hard..._

He finally found a black Sharpie marker and began to draw on the ground.

A circular object took form on the deck of the _Stan 'O War II_. It was composed of multiple, complex symbols etched around the inside perimeter of the circle, and another circle in the center holding what looked to be a triangular, one-eyed being with a top hat.

The symbols started with a pair of glasses up on top, then went clockwise to a question mark, then an ice bag, a mackerel, a pine tree, a pentagram, a six-fingered hand, a llama, a shooting star, then a bloodied heart. They were all quite random and unorganized symbols, and the way Bill sketched them made them lopsided and imperfect, but he needed to get it done. For the Ciphers. For world manipulation and domination. For Time.

So he sketched away, and when he was finished, he dragged the unconscious Ford over to the center, his head angled at the six-fingered hand. It was hard, not because Ford was heavy (he had been keeping up a regimented and strict diet, and his muscles were nothing to joke about) but because he was currently possessing the world's slowest, baggiest, fattest old man ever. _Curse you, stupid noodle arms and legs! Darn you, old man Mackerel!_

When Bill finally had it all set up, he took a step back and looked it over.

"Not bad." He said to himself, then went downstairs, retrieved some candles, and placed them in a ring around Ford.

He began to chant as he did so,

 _".emiT fo tset gnihcaorppa eht dnatshtiw dna ,nekorb neeb sah tahw xif ot ,dnim eht fo retsam sa ,em nihtiw rewop eht ekovni I"_

 _".ɘmiT ʇo ƚƨɘƚ ǫniʜɔɒoɿqqɒ ɘʜƚ bnɒƚƨʜƚiw bnɒ ,nɘʞoɿd nɘɘd ƨɒʜ ƚɒʜw xiʇ oƚ ,bnim ɘʜƚ ʇo ɿɘƚƨɒm ƨɒ ,ɘm niʜƚiw ɿɘwoq ɘʜƚ ɘʞovni I"_

 _"_ _L lqyrnh wkh srzhu zlwklq ph, dv pdvwhu ri wkh plqg, wr ila zkdw kdv ehhq eurnhq, dqg zlwkvwdqg wkh dssurdfklqj whvw ri Wlph."_

Over and over and over. Until he was done.

The ring glowed an ethereal, golden-blue hue. The edges of it sparkled like eternal diamonds, rich with power and knowledge. It lit up the entire boat, dazzling Bill's eyes and bathing them all in the glorious, golden light. No one else could see it, of course. Only the Chosen Crgldf Rqhv. The ones predicted to defeat Bill by the Axolotl.

Bill sighed.

"Finally," He said, contempt and vile laced through his words, "It's done."

He turned to Sixer.

"I can complete what he has started."

The world turned dark, a grey-scale mind world. But the Cipher Wheel was still colored, and still glowed brightly even though it was in the Mindscape.

Then Bill picked up Ford and hurled him with newfound rigorous strength and power into the six-fingered hand symbol, and Ford disappeared into the slot.

* * *

When I awoke, the ship was gone, and I was instead laying upon a soft, silk mattress with a feather pillow beneath my head and a warm, gold-and-maroon plush blanket laid out on top of me. I was hot and sweaty, not just because someone had put me here to sleep still dressed in my clothing, but because as soon as I awoke I was pummeled with memories of what had happened on the ship.

Stanley and Bill.

Stabill? Billey? Banley?

I didn't know what to call it. The only thing I knew was that I had to fix it. Bill did not belong in the same sentence, room, mind, or anything else for that matter, with Stan.

So I shot out of bed and tried to get my bearings. There was a fuzzy nerd lab/desk in the corner (It looked a lot like my old lab back at the shack), a fuzzy (triangle-shaped?) window, a fuzzy chair (Was that human skin...? No. No, it couldn't be. Right...?) ... Where was the door?

Oh that's right. Glasses.

I groped around the table next to my bed until my hands found them, and I shoved my crooked glasses up the bridge of my nose.

Ah, much better.

So I screamed.

It was what I had thought it was. In other words, pure horror.

The chair was made of human flesh, eyeballs whirling around and spinning every which way, bony hands sticking out and grasping at things, mouths drooling and spitting and chomping, ears twitching, and noses sniffing the air. I almost puked at the sight of it.

Then over in the far right corner of the room was a lab full of all my old experiments and equipment. My Quantum Destabilizer leaned against a large wooden desk shoved up against the wall. The perpetual motion machine I had made in high school was set up on top of the desk, still spinning slowly and humming with electricity. My toolbox full of screw-drivers, hammers, gloves, and whatever else I had needed to fix up stuff and invent objects was next to it, the top slightly ajar. I wanted to shriek in delight (yay, my tools were safe and sound with me!) but the chair was still in the back of my mind, and it put me off slightly.

There also was, indeed, a triangular window right in front of the bed I was sitting in, and it looked an awful lot like Bill. It reminded me of the windows in the shack. Yikes. I needed to get rid of my Bill-obsession objects soon, they reminded me too much of my past mistakes.

So after I got over the initial reaction I had to the whole effect of the room, I slowly got up and looked for a door. I needed to find Stanley and figure out what we were doing here. That's when I noticed where I was.

The walls were plastered with a wallpaper of golden, six-fingered hands, with a maroon background, like the pattern of the bedding on the bed I had been laying in. The furniture was all dark gold and red, and there was a dark-brown wooden trim on everything. And right in the center of it all, a very large, fluffy carpet adorned with my golden hand symbol.

Too much gold and maroon...

I was seeing colors, shapes, whiz by my vision,...

Everything getting blurry and far away,...

There was no escape,...

There were no doors, no hatches, no way out,...

Claustrophobia seized my aching heart, tugging it down, sucking the life out of me, my childhood fear enveloping me once again...

I was dizzy, falling, a dark tunnel reached up to grab me...

But before I passed out, a force seemed to reach inside me, seize my soul, and yank me, wrenching me from my daze. A one-eyed, yellow, triangular figure loomed before my vision, whispering soft words in a foreign language. It jerked me back to reality, and I screamed as my breath was thrust back into my burning lungs.

What- what the- what- the- what the _HECK_ was _THAT?!_ (My pure soul wouldn't let me think anything past that, even if I longed to think something more gruesome)

It hurt. A lot. And I couldn't explain what just happened. I just couldn't. My mind was in overdrive. I knew only one thing.

I needed to get _out_. I knew where I was. I didn't know how I got here, but I was in it.

I was inside the Cipher Wheel.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Hey guys. Nice day, isn't it? The sky is clear, no sign of clouds, the April snow finally gone and melted and May flowers are blooming...**

 **Oh no, I didn't mean to scare you! Ford's okay. He's just a little- how to put this?- dazed. He's FINE. Stop worrying about him. I know you are.**

 **I KNOW LOTS OF THINGS.**

 **But enough of that. I have a surprise for you.**

 **SURPRISE!**

 **There, that was your surprise. Didn't like it? TOO BAD. I can make it nothing if you want.**

 **No? Okay.**

 **Well here's some random fluffiness. Credits go to mon ami (yes I know French don't interrupt) Crazycatscarmen, she had the idea for the Ford hair clip thing below:**

 _ **Ford: My hair won't stay down Stanley. It's too fluffy. Do you have a device, typically flexible or worked by a spring, for holding an object or objects together or in place?**_

 _ **Stan: What the heckypoo Belgian waffles, Ford, speak English for once, not nerd babble-y nonsense.**_

 _ **Ford: A clip, Stan. A hair clip. *turns a light shade of pink***_

 _ **Stan: YOU *chuckles* YOU NEED A- *chokes on laughter* A- *is taken over by a fit of giggles* A HAIR CLIP?!**_

 _ **Ford: Um, yes... *pats floofy hair nervously like a cute puffy owl***_

 _ **Stan: BWAHAHAHAHA! FORD PINES, PH.D, MASTER PORTAL MAKER, NERDIEST OLD MAN, NEEDS A HAIR CLIP FOR HIS FLUFFY HAIR?!**_

 _ **Ford: Yes, actually. *stands there very awkwardly while his brother howls with laughter***_

 _ **Stan: CAN'T DO YOUR NERD WORK WITHOUT YOUR FLOOFY HAIR HANGING ALL OVER THE PLACE?! HAHAHAHAHA! *doubles over with laughter, then falls on the floor and starts rolling around* HOW AM I RELATED TO THIS?!**_

 _ **Ford: Can you please just give it to me, Stanley? *his cheeks grow slowly warmer and pinker as he blushes fiercely***_

 _ **Stan: SURE, HERE FLUFFY HAIRED NERD! *hands Ford a hair clip, walks off cackling with laughter***_

 _ **Ford: He's going to tell everyone. I will never live that down. *sadly pins hair back as he realizes his owlish tendencies have once more made him cute and fluffy and adorkable for everyone to laugh at***_

 **Please favorite, follow, and comment below, just no flames, please!**

 **-Fantasy**


	8. Chapter 8: Mind Games

**MEAGAN**

The candles were lit in a ring around me. The flames rose and danced patterns on the dark walls of the room, and cast me in a strange, ethereal light. My almost-blonde-kinda-still-dark-brown hair lit up in a fuzzy halo around my head, and my glasses reflected the flames of light, making me seem braver than I was actually feeling. In truth, this was frightening. Horrifying. If I didn't conceal all my bad memories right now, hide them well enough, my sister was more than likely to run into one. There was quite a bit she shouldn't see. Particularly the ones concerning _him_. Man, he was a let down. I still liked him, though. Ever since- No. I'm ranting now. Back to the subject. No more about my private life and affairs.

This was the moment. The lights were out, and the windows shut and the drapes closed over them. We didn't need the paparazzi sneaking a look at this.

The Journal was open in the center of the circle, the Bill Cipher page staring out at me. Gah, was he creepy. The spell was underlined and written in dark, bold strokes. It was in the middle of the page and took up most of the room on it. There was no way anyone would be able to mispronounce anything. Maybe that's what Ford had intended.

Now all there was to do was get it done and over with.

Bill spoke from within me,

 _You don't have to do this_ _. Think of what we could do, as one..._

I ignored him. This was mandatory.

Mabel finished her candle-lighting and went to sit, cross-legged, in front of me, just outside the tight enclosure of the circle of candles.

"Prepare yourself. This is no joke. You need to make sure you want to do this, it's a one-time operation." She said, apprehension etched into her soft, kindred face.

"Who's talking right now? Is this the Mabel I grew up with? I don't think you've ever been so serious before." I said in a joking manner, but I still chuckled nervously, surprised by how quiet and stiff she had gotten.

She chuckled a little too, but nervously so. "Yea, yea. I'm still here, goofus." And she went to shove me playfully, but suddenly a wall of flames rose up between us, and she was forced backward across the living room before she could get inside the circle and touch me.

 _"What the-?!"_ I looked at Mabel in shock and horror.

"Ok, that was weird..." She said, getting up and dusting herself off. Mabel then bounced back to where she had been and tried again, only to be met with the same results. A force field was rising up every time she went to touch me, a golden, glowing shield that bounced her back across the living room whenever Mabel came too close.

"Ok, ok, stop it!" I cried in frustration after she had done it again four more times. "We get it! Just more Gravity Falls weirdness to deal with. It's probably just a spell protection bubble or something from the candles or whatever."

 _Really, Gravity Falls weirdness? That's the best you can come up with, Fireball? You really have no clue, do you?_

Shut the fracking frell up.

 _Woah what's with the language? Tone it down a bit, you're not the enemy here._

I know you're not. Wait, you just said- what? Why'd you say I'm not the ene-

"Let's just move on..." Mabel sat back down with a huff and turned the Journal towards her.

 _Heehee, mind games. I love it. Figure it out, Fireball, it's not that hard. The force-field wasn't created by the spell._

Gah, Bill is a such a JERK!

"What?" Mabel looked up from where she had been reading the Journal.

Oh no, had I said that aloud?

"Nothing. Never mind me. Just...personal things..."

 _Personal? I'm more than that._

Then what are you?

 _I am-_

"Alright." Mabel mumbled in resignation, then began to chant the words on the paper.

 ** _"Videntis Omnium,_**

 ** _Magister Mentium,_**

 ** _Magnesium Ad Hominem,"_**

The room was bathed in a bright white glow, and the candles began to spin around me,

 ** _"Magnum Opus,_**

 ** _Habeus Corpus,"_**

Bill's voice vanished from my head,

 ** _"Inceptus Nolanus 'Overratus',"_**

The room was spinning, the candles a circular blur moving around me,

 ** _"MAGISTER MENTIUM!_**  
 ** _MAGISTER MENTIUM!_**  
 ** _MAGISTER MENTIUM!"_**

Mabel's eyes glowed bright blue and rolled back into her head as she chanted the last words, and I slumped back unconscious as the room took a final 180 degree tilt, and disappeared.

 **...**

"WHAT THE FRELL?" I choked out as I awoke. I gasped and panted for breath, and my lungs gradually turned from a rash, horrible burning to a dull throb. My eyes were twitching furiously and I couldn't seem to focus on any one thing. Everything was gray, dull, and blurry. I reached up to push my glasses back up my nose, but my finger met only oily, nervously-sweating skin. That's probably why I couldn't see.

So I groped about on the floor around me, trying to find my precious spectacles. No such luck, there was nothing anywhere. In fact, it was just a smooth, hard surface with nothing on it. No bumps, no scratches, and the smoothest, most polished surface I had ever felt. I just sighed. If the universe decided I didn't need glasses, then I would have to suffer without them. I stood up. Silence yawned overhead, and nothing moved. I tried to use my other senses besides my sight to see, but there was nothing to hear, taste, touch, or smell. Just a blank, gray, devoid-of-life area stretching for eternity around me.

This...this wasn't right.

"Hello?" I called out quietly and tentatively, and I slowly creeped forward, my legs inching no more than a couple centimeters in front of me. Silently I prowled through the grayness, clouds of vapor rising up and falling away around me every now and then. I didn't know where I was going, but one thing was for sure:

I was officially in the Mindscape. Mine, to be exact.

"Meagan?"

"GAH!" I screamed, and I turned around and lashed out with my foot, hitting a solid, humanoid figure.

"OW! What the- hey!" The figure yelled again as I continued to thrash, defending myself. Where was I? Who was this? More importantly, would it attack me?

"Meagan!"

I stopped at the familiar voice. A squeaky, slightly-puberty-ish voice that whistled when it spoke. A voice with braces and sweaters and glowing happiness.

"What the derp? Mabel?"

"Yes- ouch- it, it's me...owie..." I saw her rub her knee and wince in pain.

"Gah, I'm blind. Actually, I'm literally quite blind. I didn't see you there, both literally and figuratively."

"Here." And she placed my glasses on my face. Everything suddenly came back to me in clear-cut focus.

"Oh! Thanks!" I thanked her appreciatively, then bent down to check her knee. She leaned away and clutched it and said she was fine, so I just shrugged.

"If you say so." We then set off in direction to check out the area.

For a while, it was only varying degrees of white, gray, and sometimes but very rarely, black or yellow. They floated by us in puffs of vapor and clouds. Sometimes rays of yellow light would randomly flicker and spark, lighting up certain areas, then fade away. Every now and then we would come across some type of black void, a hole in our path, and we would step around it and continue on. The lights and voids were many different sizes and shapes, sometimes large, some small, others square or rectangular, and some just circles or ovals.

Then, almost as if by magic, a doorway abruptly blocked our path, and we skidded to a halt.

I slowly reached a hand out towards the doorknob.

" _What do you think you're doing?_ " Mabel bellowed at me. (If a twelve-year-old could bellow)

I scratched my head, a bit taken aback. "Well, you see here, I intended to open it, you see, a doorknob's purpose is to turn and, ya know, open..." I shrugged.

"Oh. Well, I guess in that case, there's nothing else much to do, so..." She frowned determinedly and nodded at the door.

So I reached once again, grasped and turned the golden knob tightly in my fist, and opened the door. It spilled out golden light, blinding us and making me gasp.

We had arrived at my memories.

* * *

 **DIPPER**

I gasped awake to the sound of scurrying feet and the perfumey scent of flowers. A blinding light was craning over me, momentarily blinding me and making spots pop in my vision at the sudden intake of light. I heard voices, rushed, anxious voices that overlapped one another in mixed waves of whispers and yells.

I rolled over to look out over the side of my bed.

At the far end of the room, a doorway opened out, revealed a mob of people. Some were panicking, yelling and waving their arms. Some were holding their belongings, bags and briefcases full to the brim with necessities, as they raced down the corridor. Still others grabbed hold of people, asking them questions, or just dragging them along.

But no matter what anyone did, they were all surging as one in a singular, common direction: towards a sign labeled EXIT in bold letters.

And no matter what anyone did, no one paid any mind to the infirmary which I was apparently in.

They were all too busy dodging the leaping flames that consumed the building and threatened their lives.

Humankind was naturally driven to survive. And this was no exception.

If the people outside hadn't an ounce of regret, an ounce of pity, then I decided it was time to step into action. They could save their selves; and so could I.

I was a naturally driven survivor.

I pulled myself up, the linen sheet falling limply off to the side as I swung my feet over the edge of the mattress. I was lying on one of the many beds lined against the wall, a hall of hospital beds and shiny linoleum flashing and reflecting my face back up at me. People sat in, stood around, and shuffled about the beds, donning white hospital gowns.

Beside me, a table had been placed, holding all of my items. I snatched up my blue vest and Journals 1 & 2, then stepped out of bed. My bare feet were freezing cold on the tile floor, and I had to suppress the immediate urge to cry out. No need to attract attention to myself when everyone's attention was already diverted.

Outside the infirmary, the flames reached higher, slowly spreading across the doorway, nearly blocking the only way out of the room I was in.

I needed to hurry up. My life was at stake.

Glancing back at my bed, I noticed my clothing hanging over a rack at the far end of the room. Hurriedly unpinning the gown, I dashed over there, freeing my shirt and shorts from the hooks and racing to an unoccupied corner to change.

Once I was back in my clothes, I carefully placed the Journals back inside my jacket and hurried over to the mob, which was beginning to thin out. I had no idea what was happening, but whatever it was had caused everyone to evacuate immediately with no regards for others, which meant it was out or nothing.

The atmosphere was smoldering, and the heat from the fire boiled my skin white-hot, the smoke choking me with each intake of air.

I took a look around as I ran down the corridor to the EXIT sign. It was obviously some type of hospital, albeit a horribly creepy one. Flickering lights gave way to rooms filled with snapped electrical wires, fizzling experiments, and haywire operation chairs. Some doors were locked firmly, the key still in place, while others looked like they had been left abruptly, still in the middle of an operation.

Behind me, the flames had eaten the infirmary from which I had just narrowly escaped. Guiltily, I charged on. I knew now how it felt to be responsible for lives, the weight of deaths on your shoulders.

Racing for my life, I steamed on past more rooms. The hall extended out in front of me, the glowing EXIT sign teasing me from its post, almost as if it knew I'd never make it in time. Why was this hall so impossibly long? It seemed the farther I trudged on, the wider it extended.

Flames consumed the air, bleeding the atmosphere dry of any remaining oxygen. I gasped for breath, straining my lungs, willing myself to live.

And I began to pray.

Hands clasped in front of my chest, I bowed my head and continued running, but this time directing my thoughts upwards.

 _Dear Heavenly Father, please help me. I don't want to die. Please save me from this fire and help me live._

 _Amen_.

Yet, the fire roared on, not hearing my desperate pleas for help, blasting the glass panels of the rooms and knocking me off my feet. I scrambled on the slippery floor, my sweat gushing from my slick forehead onto the tile, making it hard to find an friction. Finally, I made it back onto my feet, but I had wasted precious moments.

The fire was upon me now, death looking me in the eye. For the first time in nearly a year, I felt inches close to my own demise.

With bated breath, I closed my eyes.

 _If this is how I am to die, then so be it_.

I welcomed it, and the flames licked my skin, death approaching me once again...

I awaited what was sure to be a horrible, skin burning, bone melting end...

But it never came.

Instead, a hand had seized the collar of my jacket and hauled me up, then dragged me on down the hall.

Struggling to see who had saved me, I saw us outpace the fire and eventually outrun it. I was saved.

My prayers had been answered.

Letting go after the fire was a ways behind us, the persons hold on me slackened, and it yelled, "I can't take you any farther, you're on your own!" then it gave way to a fit of coughs and collapsed in front of me.

I tried to help him up, but he was limp and heavy. I sat down heavily next to him.

"Why?" I yelled over the fire. Why had he saved my life, when he could've saved his own?

But he just looked up at me, a matted mess of white-blonde hair and wrinkles, and gave me a toothless smile.

"Because it was- the right thing- to do..." and his eyes glossed over, his mouth went slack, and he fell into my lap. Dead.

Tears fell freely down my face now.

I didn't care.

This old man, whom I had never even met, risked his own life to save me.

And ended up dead in the process. Because of me.

Screaming for all it was worth, cursing the world, cursing the fate that had brought me here, I plowed on, determined by the horrible way of mankind to reach that door, despite all else.

Coming upon the door, I seized the handle and wrenched it open to a vat of screams and yells. Dreary, dismal rain poured down from the sky, smothering everything in a gray haze. Fog wafted through the air and clouded up my senses. My vision still blurry, I hurried through the crowd, trying to get out of it all. Close human contact was never quite my thing.

Then, just as suddenly as the onslaught of people had come on, it stopped. People were silenced, babies were caught mid-coo, and the movement of everyone halted. I skidded to a stop in my tracks. Looking around, I noticed that everyone had their attention focused above. I glanced up, and immediately regretted it.

A golden haze swept through the crowd and broke the rain, dazzling us all in the glow. A black, handsome suit, a dapper red bowtie, a cane, and he was in front of me.

"Master." All the surrounding people bowed down, knees low to the ground, lips almost kissing it.

He smiled his evil, menacing smile. He looked around, his top hat shiny in the sudden sun, the rain drops still splattered all over it. Twirling his cane, he bent down and put a finger to my chin.

Yellow eyes met familiar brown ones.

He spoke. "Well well well. Dipper Pines. Little Pine Tree. Long time no see."

I glared back with as much of a vile look as I could muster. Given the circumstances, it wasn't much.

"Bill."

He cocked his head in mock amusement, then chuckled. His voice was gruff, almost like the man he should've been. But my Grunkle wasn't there any longer.

"We seem to have come to a crossroad of sorts. No matter." He stood up, black tux outlining his figure.

He snapped his fingers. Several people stepped forward and grabbed hold of my wrists, bounding them together with a thick rope.

"Let go-a me!" I yelled, kicking and thrashing about, before someone shoved a cloth down my throat and tied a handkerchief over my mouth.

"Good-bye." Bill said, leaning into my face, before he covered me in blue flames.

I disappeared.

* * *

 **MEAGAN**

We were back at the Shack.

It was an wooden, old, broken down shack in the middle of the woods in the small town of Gravity Falls. It had the strange face-shaped rock propped up in front, and the signs declaring _Mystery Shack just ahead! (No refunds)_ for miles down the road. The Mystery Shack sign was crooked, messy and glittery pink. The S was even falling off. The trees surrounding the Shack swayed in a breeze, (Breeze? We were in the Mindscape! How was there a breeze?) and a few were weighed down with confetti, streamers, and banners. It was a junkyard, as always.

I walked into the golden doorway and began making my way towards the front of the Shack.

The front door creaked on its hinges as I stepped over the threshold and took it all in. There was an old 80's television, the remote propped up on the sofa across from it. The sofa was worn down and dusty, its cover scratched and chewed in places from Mabel's pig, Waddles. It didn't have any stuffing left inside it, so the cushions were flat and wrinkled with age. An old dinosaur fossil head sat there next to the sofa. It even had remnants of food on it, and an empty Diet Pitt Cola can tipped over on top. Then, further back, was a dining room table, Dipper and Mabel's favorite card game splayed out and the lights flickering above it. To my left was a kitchen, where Stan would flip Stancakes and Ford had fixed the ligthbulb. I flicked the switch, and the bulb lit up, casting its skin softening glow unto my body and emitting its thousand-year-span light.

I then walked up to Dipper and Mabel's attic bedroom. Mabel's empty bed was on the right, the flower symbol etched upon its wooden headboard and her glittery posters crumbled up in little balls all around it. On Dipper's side of the room were a few fountain pens, chewed up and thrown randomly into the trash can at the foot of his bed. Dipper's _Who's The Author?_ board peeked out from under his little bed, along with a sack of books and old papers.

Even if I had never been here, it still was just like how Dipper and Mabel had described it. Even if it was all gray and dismal and devoid of color because we were in the Mindscape, it still looked like the Mystery Shack.

Mabel walked up behind me and peeked over my shoulder. "Why are we here?" She asked, her voice loud in the quietness.

"I don't know," I whispered back, and pointed into the darkness towards the stairs, "But look over there."

A bright, white light was shining from downstairs that hadn't been there a moment before.

Mabel saw it too.

"Let's go." She murmured, then grabbed my hand and tugged me toward it.

We raced down the stairs, my jaw clenched, anticipation heavy in the air. When we got to ground level, we found the light coming from the gift shop, brighter now than it had been before. Our lungs burning and our leg muscles screaming for us to stop, we bounded across the living room into the shop, finding the vending machine open and spilling the blue light from it. We froze, our feet seemingly etched into the ground. We didn't move, just let the (cold?) air from the light blow over our faces.

I looked over at Mabel, who was smiling giddily (like usual) and had her headband clutched in her small hand. Her hair blew crazily in a sphere around her bright face, making her seem like a crazed angel from Heaven. Her eyes were squinting, the light reflecting in her...her...blue...eyes...?

For a second, had that been a flash of yellow in Mabel's normally blue eyes? A cat-like, slit-pupiled, yellow eye?

No, they were blue. I double-checked...yes. She looked over and grinned at me.

"Isn't this insane?!" She yelled over the wind, "This is supposed to be your Mindscape, but now it's all colory and whirly and- _wheeee!_ " She squealed as the light became brighter and a stronger blast of sound, light, and color burst forth.

Mabel was pushed backward, her hand slipping from mine. " _Meagan!_ " She hollered, her eyebrows creased in worry and her eyes wide with surprise before she smashed into the counter. The counter smashed and crumbled under her weight, wood flew in all directions, and Mabel fell to the floor, unconscious.

" _MABEL!_ " I screamed, but the opposite was happening to me. Instead of being pushed away, I was slowly being sucked into the machine, the crazy tornado of light and color pulling me in. I tried crawling over to her, resisting the wind, but the room seemed to have tilted, and she was suddenly high above me, the machine below me, and I was being pulled further and further away, like clothing down a chute...

I struggled, pulling with all my might, my muscles screaming in protest.

It was now like a rock climbing wall, and I had to use items on the floor to pull myself up to Mabel. I grabbed onto a clothing rack and hauled myself up, and sat above it.

Mabel was still so far away...

Maybe if I got to her all this craziness would stop...

But if I lept, would I make it?

I decided to give it a try, and prepared myself, balling up my legs below me, preparing to spring and leap out to snatch Mabel, who was dangling off the counter now by her sweater.

But just before I sprung, I saw Mabel lift off her feet and get sucked into the void, completely unconscious. Screaming her name, I clawed desperately in the air, trying to will her back, but a box of merchandise sailed my way and knocked me off balance.

I flew into the air, spinning crazily, trying to find the ground again to right myself.

But there was no ground.

There was no below.

There was no gravity.

The light and sound from the machine had become a tornado, making everything float and rotate around the gift shop. I tried holding on to something, anything, to help myself, to catch my breath again, but there was nothing there for me to reach, and Mabel was too far for me to grab by now.

So with a final breath, my energy completely drained, I let myself go and went flying into the machine, darkness claiming my exhausted body.

 **...**

I awoke to him again. In my head. _Bellowing._

 _FIREBALL! What have you gotten yourself INTO?!_

I opened my eyes. Nothing. I attempted to move my limbs. Nothing.

 _Well, of course you can't move, did you really think you could?_

"Shut up." I growled.

 _You shut up._

"No you."

 _Shut up._

"Shut it."

 _Stop._

"Stop."

 _STAAAP._

"Gah! I don't have time for this!" I cried in exasperation. I tried to move again, only to realize I couldn't feel. Nor could I see. Actually, the only thing I could do was hear and talk. To Bill, specifically.

"Where am I?" I yelped. Claustrophobia was setting in, my mind was in overdrive, I was hyperventilated...I almost couldn't hear Bill when he said,

 _You can't breathe, Fireball, how would you be hyperventilating?_

I rolled my eyes (in my mind) at him. "Okay, I guess I was wrong for once. But could you _pu-lease_ explain where I am and how I got here?"

 _Maybe... in exchange do I get something?_

"A deal? No. Fracking. Way."

 _Then I guess you'll never know._

Silence. I still struggled, trying to get my bearings, but the darkness stubbornly stayed tightly wrapped around my senses. Finally, after what seemed like hours, (Or was it minutes? You couldn't really tell things like time in a place like this.) I gave up.

"Ok, what do you want?" I sighed.

 _Hows about you and I make a nifty deal?_

"I know, I know, I meant what do you want out of it?"

 _So you want to know where you are and what to do...which is a big favor to ask...so I'll need an even bigger bargain..._

"No! Wait, knowing where I'm at and what to do isn't that big!"

 _Actually, you have no idea._ He chuckled sadistically, then groaned.

 _Alright, hows about in exchange for what you want, you give me freedom?_

"Freedom? From what exactly?"

 _Freedom from my boundaries. You don't like me all cooped up in your head, do you?_

"No...not exactly..."

 _What have I ever done for you?_

"Bothered me to heck and back!"

 _Yea, I'm not much help, am I?_

"No...but there's a catch, isn't there?! There's always a catch! What do you really want?" I demanded, sure that Bill had something up his sleeve.

 _Nothing! I give you the answers you need, and in exchange I won't bother you anymore! So, is it a deal?_

He seemed to be rushing things. I needed time to think it over. If I rushed into it, it may turn out to be a one-sided, useless deal that I never wanted.

"Give me time."

 _No. Now's the time._

"What? Why can't I think about what I'm agreeing to?"

 _Because the boundaries are breaking. If I don't help you out now, you may be lost to the universe forever without ever knowing how to get out._

"WHAT?!" I shrieked.

 _Yep! So, how about that deal?_

Lost to the universe with no way out...

On the other hand, Bill would leave me...

He _was_ a nuisance...

No help to me...

But there was a catch I wasn't seeing here, wasn't there? Bill never made deals that actually helped someone. They always ended in disaster.

But was this any different? If I threw away this deal, would I really be lost to the universe forever, with no way home?

No silly, crazy Mabel, no smart and introvert Dipper, no family or friends...no _life_...nothing to work towards...nothing to do...forever...

 _Tick-tock kid!_ A flaming blue ball of light entered my vision unwillingly, a black hand extending out into space, waiting for a handshake to seal the agreement.

There was no turning back.

"It's a deal."

I shook the hand, (mentally) the flames warm against my skin, but not actually quite there at all.

 _Okay...so you wanted to know where you are..._

"Yes. Fulfill your end, demon triangle, then leave me."

 _Yeesh, kid! Okay, okay, so you're in the dark part of your Mindscape. The Darkscape._

"Wait, like my secret dark side?"

 _Yes, it's where your conscious hides your deepest, darkest secrets and memories._

"Yikes."

 _Yikes, indeed. But all you have to do to Become again-_

"Wait, what does that mean?"

 _Come into existence again. Right now, you're not a Being. You're a memory._

"WHAT THE HECK?! How?!"

 _Because you entered the Darkscape! But don't worry yourself, Fireball, just say my name thrice in succession, and you'll be able to Become yourself again._

"You mean say Bill Cipher?"

 _No no no. You have to say it a special way. Say:_ _rehpiC nosaM lliB ,rehpiC nosaM lliB ,rehpiC nosaM lliB_

"Okay..."

 _Hurry! Say it! The Time's almost up!_

"Okay okay! rehpiC nosaM lliB ,rehpiC nosaM lliB ,rehpiC nosaM lliB!"

A golden yellow flash of light, Bill's voice sparking then winking out, and I was up again.

 **...**

I checked myself. Four limbs, my five senses were back and hyper-aware, and I could see again.

Standing up, I found myself in a hall of doors, each one different than the last. Doors on the ceiling, doors next to me, doors below me. The doors stretched into infinity behind and in front of me. And each one displayed a memory of mine.

I began walking, not really sure of where I was going, but confident that there was a way out of this place.

Looking around, I studied the walls of doors and windows as I walked past them. I noticed that the farther down I went, the newer looking the doors got. Doors that had previously been wooden and beaten down became shinier and sturdier farther down the hall. They were all different colors, shapes, and sizes, and each bore a different marking or symbol sketched into its face.

Some had pine trees, some had shooting stars, some had fireballs or fish or glasses, but they were all foreign to me.

I stopped and peered at a particular one that caught my eye.

It was bright pink and sparkly, and had an emblem of a star surrounded by flames on it. I didn't know what the emblem meant, but the sounds coming from the door sparked recognition in my brain. It was a memory I could clearly remember, one that had stuck in my mind and I visited often when I was having a particularly bad day.

I yanked open the door in excitement to see the memory playing out behind it, almost like a television. I watched in amazement. It was the memory, exactly as I remembered it.

Mabel and I sat in our kitchen back at our house in Piedmont, California. She had her arts-and-crafts items spread out on the table in front of her, and had an armful of multi-colored rubber bands strung around both of her arms, up to her elbows. In her left hand, she held an arrangement of hair-clips, ties, and glitter tubes, and her right hand was holding my hair. I was sitting in front of her in a kitchen chair, staring ahead worriedly, my eyebrows creased in concern.

"Mabel, are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked, and I tried to peer around to look at her, but was held back by the hair tightly held in my sister's fist.

"Don't worry, sis! You hair will look so fabuloso by the time I'm done with it, the boys will be falling all over you!" She laughed and sprinkled rainbow glitter over my chocolate-brown head.

"I highly doubt that..." I mumbled, but eventually sighed and gave in to it.

Mabel continued weaving my hair in a tight braid, occasionally sprinkling glitter on it here and there, and adding in ribbons or bows when needed. I just sat outside the memory, leaning on the frame, and watched in content. This memory was so pleasant...

Minutes began to slide by, each one met with another gigantic bow from Mabel. In the kitchen chair, I began to drift off and fall asleep. I had always loved it when people played with my hair. It was one of my greatest weaknesses. Something about the rhythmic overlaying of hair and gentleness of the soft, warm hands twining my hair into figures and shapes made me so relaxed I got sleepy. After a couple more braids from Mabel, I was sound asleep, my eyes shut and my breath coming out in silent puffs of air. Mabel peered around to look at me and smiled when she saw me dozing in the chair. She continued styling my hair, but my breaths began longer and louder until it made her stop and look at me suspiciously.

Outside the frame, I leaned in too. I had been asleep when this had happened, so I didn't know what I had been doing.

Mabel tied off the hair she had in her hand and carefully swiveled the chair around to face her. She leaned in close to my face...  
I leaned in as well, curious...  
And she squealed. I fell back from the frame but was back up in a moment, leaning in so close I could almost smell the perfume Mabel used.

Mabel bounced up and down in her chair, silently screaming, and picked up her phone to text Dipper.

He ran down the stairs then, clutching a notebook and pen. "What?" He said, but apparently too loud because Mabel shushed him.

"Listen!" She whisper-yelled, gesturing towards my sleeping figure.

Dipper tiptoed over and leaned in, only to pull away a moment later and gasp. "Woah! What is that?"

What were they talking about? What was I doing that was so interesting? I didn't hear anything...

Then I heard it.

Purring.

I was _purring_. Like a _cat_.

Oh my word this was literally so embarrassing.

Dipper tapped his pen against his face, deep in thought. "Seems to me to be some sort of genetic inheritance thing...but I can't be sure until I do tests..."

Mabel stopped him immediately. "Absolutely not! She is our sister, Dipper!"

"Okay, okay..." He sighed, looking defeated for a moment, but that was replaced by sheer curiosity as he leaned in once more.

"Didn't Grunkle Ford do the same thing? You know, purr like this?" He asked, listening to my soft purrs emanating from me.

"Yea, I think so." Mabel said offhandedly. She was finishing up my braid.

"Okay, okay. Well, I think I'll just go read my book now. I _was_ in the middle of a sentence." Dipper mumbled before heading off towards his bedroom.

Mabel rolled her eyes, then topped my hairdo off with a final sprinkle of glitter.

After tying the last ponytail off with a final, gigantic glittery bow, Mabel sat back and twirled my chair around to face her, much to my surprise.

"Hey!" I yelled in protest, waking up suddenly and nearly falling off from the force of the spin.

"Haha!" Mabel grinned at me crazily, then held up a small, hand-held mirror. "Lookie! Look! Look! Look!"

"Okay, okay!" I chuckled, then carefully picked up the mirror and held it up to my face.

Outside of the memory, I laughed. I remembered exactly how I had felt when I had first gotten a glimpse of the bizarre concoction Mabel had made of my usually normal hair.

In the memory, I smiled slightly at my reflection. My hair had been done in multiple different ways. The right side of my head consisted of three ponytails, each one braided a different way. One was a fishtail, the other was a normal three-strand braid, and the third was a dutch braid. The dutch braid was sprinkled in red and orange glitter, my two favorite colors. The three-strand braid had a yellow ribbon wrapped within it, with and orange polka-dot bow tied at the bottom. The last braid, the fishtail, had red, yellow, and orange bows pinned in different places all throughout it. On the other side of my head, my left side, it was in a fancy bun with ponytails poking out around it, creating the effect of a fluffy ball of hair on my head. Green, blue, and purple ribbons stuck out with the ponytails, and the bun was sprinkled with pink glitter.

Overall, it was quite a mess. In my opinion, it was hazardous to have this many bows in your hair, and harmful to the environment to use much glitter.

But it had been a cute gesture, and I handed the mirror back to Mabel with a wide grin on my face. Mabel looked at me curiously.

"Do you like it?" She whispered hesitantly.

I shook my head and she whimpered and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She sadly put down her arts-and-crafts items and went to get up, but I grabbed her.

"No." I said firmly, a smile still on my face.

Then I hugged her around the middle and pulled her close. She cried out in surprise, but snuggled into my arms.

"I love it." I whispered into her hair. "Thank you."

The memory ended there, and fog clouded up the frame until it faded from view. A few seconds later, it restarted again, back at the beginning.

I sighed in content, then moved on to another frame. Why they hadn't told me of my weird purring thing, I had no idea, but it was interesting to watch. Fun to learn that I had that strange ability.

I turned around to open another frame-

and came face-to-face with the girl herself.

"MEAGAN!" Mabel screeched, then bear-hugged me around the middle. I smiled down at her and kissed her cheek.

"Are you alright? Did that portal hurt you? Also, where are we? What's up with this place? Have you been here long?" She flooded with with questions, each one spoken faster than the last, until finally I just laughed and rubbed her head.

"Mabel, Mabel, calm _down_. I'm alright, I'm not hurt, I'm _fine_." I reassured her, and she hugged me again in relief.

"Then what was that portal all about?" She asked me, her tearful eyes looking up at me sweetly.

I shrugged. "Honestly, no idea. Probably just Bill trying to freak us out, ya know? I did say he was in my mind, so it's more than likely he's somewhere in here with us."

Lies. Such lies.

Mabel's eyebrows raised so far they almost touched her hairline, and her eyes took on a panicked, crazed look.

"No, no, no, not him...anyone but him..." She whispered, twirling around in circles, but I grabbed her shoulders firmly.

"It's okay Mabel, I'm sure he doesn't even know we're here." I lied again through my teeth, "Anyways, how about we take a look at these memories? Try and find one that could help us defeat Bill."

She nodded. "Okay. Let's split up." I gave her a thumbs up in agreement, and she skipped farther down the hall, opening and closing doors at random.

Man, why had it been so easy to lie to that innocent child?

No matter. I needed to find a way out of here, and find a way to get Bill _out_.

The next memory I came upon was dark blue and white, and labeled with an etch of a pine tree next to a fire. Again, no idea what the etch meant, but I heard the sounds of another fond memory being played out, so I opened this one too.

Inside the frame sat two figures on the ground outside, one fidgeting and picking nervously at the grass around him, the other figure slightly taller and watching the other.

I moved in for a closer look and discovered the day I had told Dipper I had my first crush.

In the memory, Dipper, still picking at the grass, looked up at my figure. "Why?" He asked solemnly.

I knew exactly what he meant. So I just shook my head and looked up to the cloudy sky. I sighed. "I really don't know. Gah. He's nice, cute, funny, and I like him. Is it that bad to have a teensy tiny crush on someone?"

"It's not tiny. You said you loved him to the moon and back. That's a lot."

"Okay, okay, I know. But really, Dipper, why do we do anything? What is love, really?"

He looked at me with a questioning look, then flopped down on the grass with a huff.

"I don't know. All I know is now you're like, in love with like, the hottest and most well known kid in high school, and everyone knows and it's...well, it's so weird because he likes my crush...Oh, it's so messed up." I turned over on his stomach then and sighed again.

"Oh, Dipper..." I said with sympathy, and I reached out to touch his shoulder but he shrugged me off.

"It's alright." He mumbled into the ground.

"No, it's not." I said firmly. "What's wrong? How can I help?"

He groaned and turned over. "It's complicated."

"Tell me, I can handle it."

"Ok..." Then he looked up to the sky with a distant look in his eyes.

"I've had this crush on Wendy since forever. Since that one, fateful day when I realized she was actually kinda cute. Ever since then, I've been crushing hard on her, and when I learned that she didn't feel anything back towards me, I just gave up. My imagination has been giving up, my wonderment, my love of life, even my grades. Everything...for her..."

I was shocked. I knew exactly how he felt.

"I know what you mean."

"You do?"

"Yes...I've been through the same thing."

"When?"

"When I...well, it's going on right now, actually."

"Matthew doesn't like you?"

"No, no, it's not like that...it's just, well, he doesn't know I like him. It's a crush, after all."

Dipper chuckled. "Wow."

"Wow, indeed." I smiled knowingly at him, then reached down under his chin and tickled him. He cried out, then began laughing uncontrollably.

"Hey! Hey!" He shouted out, "Stop it! Haha- stop! No, heehee, stop it! Please!" His voice cracked on the last word, and I laughed at his puberty voice.

"Stop!" He squealed again, and tried to roll out of my grip, but I tackled him and pinned him to the ground. Then I reached under his armpits and proceeded to bombard him with tickles.

"GaaAAaaAAHhhhH!" He screamed, wriggling in my tight grip.

"Haha! Gotcha!" I laughed and laughed, pleased that I had broken up our somber conversation. Dipper didn't need to worry about stuff like that just yet. He needed to just focus on being a kid and live in the moment, before it slipped away from him. Unlike me...

We had been rolling around the hill together, laughing and getting sprinkled with grass and splattered with grass stains, when we suddenly rolled too close to the edge and went tumbling down the hillside, laughing and screaming all the way.

Yet another one of my best memories fogged up and faded away, restarting again once I had closed the frame.

I started down the hall again, recognizing some memories, surprised at some others, but pleased all the same. These memories were all of my best ones, and it was nice seeing them again. It was almost like reliving them, and I savored each and every one I came across.

I opened a few others, took a peek at some, but kept going on down the hallway. I was sure that, eventually, I would find a way out. Even if I wasn't completely sure that I wanted to leave this pleasant place, I still knew I needed to get home and continue living my life. I couldn't spend eternity here, that was for sure.

Mabel was at the other end of the hall, studying a dull gray memory with interest. She was alright. At least Bill hadn't come to find us yet. Interestingly enough, I hadn't even heard a peep come out of him since we made our deal. Maybe it had really worked.

As soon as that thought left my head, I cried out in pain as fire blossomed in my gut. I pulled away from the frame I had been looking at and moaned as the pain spread from the center of my body outwards, lighting up every cell and nerve and wracking my body with spurts of agony and fire.

Clutching my hands, which were burning up almost as if they really were on fire, I staggered over to a nearby wall and slid down to the floor. I tried massaging my fingertips and toes, but all that did was intensify the pain. Lying on my back, I huffed and tried only concentrating on my breathing, hoping that would take my mind off it and dull the spreading fire.

My body was burning up, my head was an inferno of flames, and I couldn't think straight anymore. All that I could think of was the mind-numbing, bone-scorching _pain_.

Where was this coming from? Wave upon wave of pain washed over me, and bubbles of heat rose and popped within me. I screamed out loud as more waves of fire consumed my weak and fragile body. It was the worst condition I had ever been in. I feel sick, I felt like I had the most horrible fever ever, I felt like throwing up...

So I leaned over and hurled onto the floor, not quite thinking about what I was doing but just trying to do something, anything, just to make the pain go away.

Mabel was over me now, shaking me and telling me to get up. She shook my shoulders, but it only caused the pain to delve deeper, and I screamed as my heart seemed to go up in flames.

All I could see red and orange, and my mind was the fire, the fire was me...

And just as suddenly as it had come, it was gone.

The flames retreated and the pain faded away.

I sat up, cautiously, in case it came back, but the fever from before was gone.

I checked my hands. Back to the usual temperature. My head felt fine, my body felt okay...

So what had happened exactly?

Mabel was sitting next to me. "Meagan..." She said, but trailed off when she couldn't think of what to say.

I glanced at her. She looked fine, no fire, no scorches.

Had it just been in my head? Was I having a mental breakdown?

"Mabel." I began, standing up and looking her in the eye, "Do I look okay?"

She looked me over. "You look normal to me. Why? What had happened to you just then?"

"I don't know..." I muttered. Then I shrugged her off. "I...I'm fine. Just- go. Keep looking around."

She blinked in understanding, realizing I wanted time alone, and headed off in a different direction to continue searching.

But I still stood there. Dazed.

Because now I realized the flames hadn't gone.

Looking down, I held my hands in front of my face.

My red-hot, blue flaming hands. That somehow didn't burn.

My hands were on fire.

Blue, strange, magical fire, to be exact.

I lifted one experimentally.

Curling it into a fist, I punched the air, not expecting anything to happen.

Instead, flames shot out from my fist and blue balls of fire launched across the hall.

From down the hall of memories, Mabel stood looking at me, mouth agape.

Now I understood.

 _Little Fireball_.

 **...**

Traipsing down the hall, Mabel and I made our way down the lane of memories.

I was still opening and closing my hand, willing forth fire every now and then, testing it out.

Finally, Mabel broke the silence between us.

"Is it permanent?"

I glanced at her. Her mouth was set in a straight line and she stared ahead, not looking at me.

"Probably not. I hope not."

"Good."

"Maybe it's just some weird side-effect from staying in my mind too long, ya know?"

"Sure."

We continued on.

Mabel's one-word answers hurt. She wasn't usually one to not talk.

Then it hit me. Why she didn't want to look at my hands. Why she seemed afraid of me all of a sudden. Why she didn't want to talk to me.

She was reminded of _him_.

I stopped in my tracks, and Mabel looked back with a quirked eyebrow.

"I'm not...you don't think..."

She just raised her hands in surrender.

"I know you're probably not him." She said, but in a cold, steely voice that still put me on edge.

And I heard that word. _Probably_. She still had doubts, then.

"But I know you're Meagan. And you're my sister, family. So I'll do whatever it takes to make this stop."

She then turned swiftly on her heel and marched on down the hallway. I hurried to keep up with her, worried I'd lose her if I let her out of my sight, even for one second.

At least she cared.

 **...**

After a while, still with no end in sight, I gasped and clutched my chest. All this walking was giving me a cramp, and I could see Mabel starting to slow down.

"Maybe we should take a break?" Mabel suggested weakly, and I nodded in gratitude.

I leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath. Man, I was out of shape...

And very suddenly, without realizing what I was leaning against, I sunk in.

"Meagan!" Mabel tried reaching out to catch me, to no avail.

I slipped through the memory into a sunny, clear day. Slipping through felt clear and smooth, like glass, but liquidy like water.

I looked around. It was another memory, and yet...

I was _inside_ it!

Memory Me was over across a field, mowing the lawn, while Dipper and Mabel sat on the porch, playing marbles. They looked up as I fell through.

"Woah," Dipper said, standing up, "Meagan, what are you doing here?"

He glanced across the field at my other self, but she hadn't seemed to see me arrive.

Mabel stood up with him. "You okay? You look a little beat up."

I looked down at myself. Indeed, all that playing around with my fire powers and walking down the hallway had left me burnt and sweaty.

I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry...I was, um..."

But Dipper just held up a hand. "Let me fix that for you." And he waved a hand over my body, magically making all the scars and sweat disappear.

I gasped in surprise and looked down. "But- but...how?" I asked, astonished.

"A word to the wise, Meagan. You're in the mind. You can do anything you can possibly imagine in here." And he waved his hand again and made a soda-pop appear.

"Woah. Now that is neat." I said. If I had known that before, I would've known how to get out of here!

Suddenly, screams erupted behind me, coming from back in the hall.

Turning, I realized that Mabel was the one screaming. And not Memory Mabel. Real Mabel.

"Oh my gosh! I have to go save Mabel! But thanks for your help!" I said to Memory Mabel and Dipper.

"No problem! Any time!" They said in unison, smiling and waving their hands identically from their place on the porch.

I jumped back through the memory and ran down the hall, calling out Mabel's name.

She answered from behind me, and I whirled around and went back the way I had come.

Mabel was pinned beneath a shoe. A gray, laced up tennis shoe, to be exact. I stopped in my tracks.

The boy was wearing a red hoodie, gray sneakers, jeans, and had a pair of red scissors in his hand.

"I'll ask you one more time." He said, his face peering at Mabel's. "Where. Did. You. Come. From?!"

I stepped inbetween them.

"Who do you think you are?" I asked, glaring at him as I picked Mabel up and brushed her off.

"Oh, um..." He scratched his neck nervously. Then he held out his hand.

"Okay, I'm sorry. We may have gotten off on the wrong foot. Let's restart. My name is Marco Diaz."

* * *

 **Ford: *loses Stan in a crowd***

 **Ford: *cups hands to make a megaphone* MY EX WIFE STILL MISSES ME...**

 **Ford: ...**

 **Ford: ...**

 **Ford: ...**

 **Mabel: Let me try.**

 **Mabel: *cups hands to make a megaphone* STANFORD PINES IS A SIX-FINGERED FREAK AND THE PINES TWINS ARE LOSERS**

 **Stan: *from across the crowd* YOU WANNA PIECE OF THIS?!**

 **Mabel: There he is!**

Please favorite, follow, and comment below, just no flames, please!

-Fantasy


	9. Chapter 9: Poems

_**...Wzlq Sdudoohov...**_

* * *

A deal sealed, he broke his word

A deal sealed, the tale of Stanford

Tick-tock, watch the clock,

Tick-tock, Time shall stop.

A deal sealed, his fate the same.

* * *

Ghost  
Sound but no sight  
Whispers but no voices  
Ghost

Thoughts but no memories  
Ghost

Touch but no feel  
Ghost

I  
Who is I  
Am I, I?

Screams  
A twin, a cage, a zodiac  
Screams

Light  
Golden, yellow  
Light

Push  
A shove into my soul, my body, I Become myself again,  
Push

Reality  
Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch,  
Reality

Being  
Eyes, ears, mouth, face, arms, legs,  
Being

I push up from the floor.  
Where was I?  
A wheel.

A room shaped in a  
Peculiar way  
A slot

Mackerel  
I am the  
Mackerel

Maroon and gold  
They flood my senses. I have been marooned, my eyes have been golden too  
Maroon and gold

Caged  
I am trapped, I am in a room and  
Caged

Reality  
Is gone, there is no  
Reality

Tears  
No brother, no twin, nothing but  
Tears

Cipher has won.  
I am Cipher.  
All is lost.


End file.
